Oct. 24, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF men's soccer team returns to its home field Saturday night, hosting SMU for a Conference USA contest at 7 p.m. After dropping three-straight tough games, the Knights will be looking to even their record at .500. UCF is currently 6-7-0 overall and 3-3-0 in C-USA action while SMU enters at 8-4-2 and 1-3-1 in league play.
Admission is free to the UCF Soccer Complex, while fans looking to park in Garage F need to tell the attendants they are parking for soccer to avoid paying a fee due to an event at the new UCF Arena.
For Knight supporters unable to attend Friday night's match, All-Access subscribers to UCFAthletics.com can watch the contest vs. the Mustangs online.
"We have played some great soccer at times, but we will need to play for 90 minutes to get a result tomorrow night," said head coach Bryan Cunningham.
UCF enters the game off a tough 2-1 loss at Kentucky on Wednesday night in Lexington, Ky. The Knights got a first-half goal from sophomore Yaron Bacher (Atlanta, Ga.) and led for 40 minutes, but the Wildcats scored twice late in the second half to steal the victory.
Freshman Kevan George (Decatur, Ga.) continues to lead the team with four goals and nine points. Bacher, now with two goals on the seasons, has a team-high three assists and 36 shots.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sean Johnson (Lilburn, Ga.) leads C-USA in saves with 74 while also ranking tied for fourth in the league with four shutouts.
Senior Paulo da Silva and freshman Diogo de Almeida lead SMU with five goals each while senior Jeff Harwell has a league-high six assists. The Mustangs' goalkeeper Craig Hill has a 0.90 goals against average and five shutouts.
The Mustangs lead the all-time series with the Knights 2-0-1, including a 3-1 victory last season on Oct. 6, 2007, in Dallas, Texas.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.