Sept. 22, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's soccer team will be traveling to Boca Raton on Wednesday with the goal of defeating a challenging in-state rival. The Knights (3-2-1) will play Florida Atlantic (3-2-1) at the FAU Soccer Field on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Wednesday's game will stand as an opportunity for the Knights to avenge a tough loss to FAU last year. UCF played a long and hard-fought game against the Owls in Orlando, and just as the game was looking to end in a draw, FAU scored a goal with 24 seconds left to stun the Knights, 1-0. The late goal was assisted by Gianni Piccoletti (Bariloche, Argentina), who is now a junior at UCF.
UCF is coming off of a win against Manhattan in its second game of the Fall Classic. After going down 1-0 early in the game, a pair of freshmen connected for the equalizer in the 30th minute. Ben Hunt (Auckland, New Zealand) fired a shot into the back of the net, after the ball came from a Nicholas Robson (Auckland, New Zealand) corner kick. In the second half, Robson scored the go-ahead goal after sneakily beating the keeper one on one off of a beautiful through ball from freshman Eduardo Jiminez (Miami, Fla.).
After Robson's and Hunt's goals, four players now lead UCF in scoring with two goals apiece. Three of the players, Hunt, Robson and Jeffrey Simmons (Monroeville, Pa.) are freshmen, while Piccoletti is the fourth.UCF also recorded 27 shots Sunday and has now fired 109 on the season. The team is averaging 18.2 shots per game.
The Knights are 17-7-1 overall against FAU. After opening the conference season Saturday at Memphis, UCF will return home on Oct. 4 against South Carolina at 2:30 p.m.
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.