Sept. 18, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - UCF (2-2-1) held a significant 16-6 shot advantage and controlled the ball for most of the game Friday night, but visiting Houston Baptist (3-3-0) stole a 2-1 victory over the Knights at the UCF Soccer Complex. The game was the second of the UCF Fall Classic. FAU and Manahttan played to a scoreless tie in the evening's first game.
Trailing 2-0 with just over eight minutes left in the contest, UCF got a beautiful goal off the head of junior Gianni Piccoletti (Bariloche, Argentina). Freshman Michele Martucci (Miami, Fla.) sent a ball to the far side that sophomore Evan Kluge (Brooklyn, N.Y.) headed into the box. Piccoletti headed over the keeper for his goal of the season. The assists were the first career for each of the players.
"Houston Baptist is a good, hard-working team. They had two chances, and they finished two chances," said head coach Bryan Cunningham. "Consequently, we had too many chances and only finished one so we wind up on the losing end of it. Our players will keep their heads up. Sunday is another day so we will come out and try to rectify today's loss."
The Knights held a 16-6 shot advantage in the game, including a 10-2 edge in the first half. Despite that first-half margin, UCF went into the break thanks to a 25th minute goal from Phillip Hagerty.
Houston Baptist scored what proved to be the game-winner in the 62nd minute on a short shot in close from Francisco Diaz.
Along with the heavy shot edge, UCF also had 13 corner kicks to only two for the visitors.
The Knights return to action on Sunday, hosting Manhattan at 1 p.m. Houston Baptist and FAU will play the day's opener at 11 a.m.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to 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 UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.