Oct. 18, 2009
Box Score | CBS College Sports Highlights
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Getting a second half goal from junior captain Yaron Bacher (Atlanta, Ga.), UCF (6-4-2, 2-2-0 C-USA) posted a 1-0 victory over visiting Marshall (7-5-1, 3-1-0 C-USA) Sunday afternoon at the UCF Soccer Complex, evening its league record and handing the Thundering Herd its first Conference USA loss of the season.
The game was televised by CBS College Sports, and will be aired tape delayed on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on CBS College Sports and Wednesday at 8 p.m. on Bright House Sports Network. The Knights played in front of a season-high 705 fans.
"It was a huge win. They were on a nice roll coming in, and we knew it was going to be tough," said head coach Bryan Cunningham. "We weathered the storm early, took control of the ball and slowly pecked away at them before getting a nice goal there."
Marshall took five of the games' first six shots, but UCF took control from there in the opening half, taking the final four shots. In the 41st minute, the Knights just missed on a great scoring opportunity. Freshman Jeffrey Simmons (Monroeville, Pa.) and Nicholas Robson (Auckland, New Zealand) had shots saved by Marshall keeper Daniel Withrow, and Bacher's rebound shot ricocheted off the crossbar.
UCF, determined to dent the scoreboard first, attacked from beginning of the second half kickoff. Robson had a good look stopped by Withrow in the 56th minute. UCF's leading scorer had five shots for the game, with each being on goal.
Just two minutes later, Bacher had another chance and took advantage. Junior Camilo Rendon (Miami, Fla.) took the ball down the right sideline and sent a ball into the box. Simmons then found Bacher at the top of the box, and the junior delivered a strike past the keeper and off the post.
"I got the ball after a couple of nice passes from Camilo and Jeff," said Bacher. "I called for the ball, and all of my teammates know I like to shoot from the top of the box. The ball came to me on my left foot, and I just took my chance at it."
Looking to avoid its first loss of the season with an equalizer, Marshall had chances over the final 30 minutes, but the Knights' defense and freshman keeper Shawn Doyle (Fort Myers, Fla.) was up to the challenge each time.
Recording his first shutout in a Conference USA contest, Doyle made five saves in the game, while fellow freshmen Andrew Quintana (Miami, Fla.), Finlay Milne (Palmerston, New Zealand), Ben Hunt (Auckland, New Zealand) and Malcolm Reed (Summerville, S.C.) played solid along the backline.
"Shawn has had his ups and downs, but I thought he had a really good week of practice with the back four," said Cunningham. "Collectively as a group today they played really well, and credit Shawn for playing well. He made some nice saves and also came out and got crosses to disrupt one of Marshall's staples for attacking.
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Soccer Game Summary (Final)
MARSHALL vs UCF (Oct 18, 2009 at Orlando, Fla.)
MARSHALL (7-5-1, 3-1-0 C-USA) vs. UCF (6-4-2, 2-2-0 C-USA)
Date: Oct 18, 2009 Attendance: 705
Weather: sunny, 63
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
MARSHALL.............. 0 0 - 0
UCF................... 0 1 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 57:31 UCF Bacher, Yaron (3) (Rendon, Camilo;SIMMONS, Jeff) - shot from top of box off post
Shots: Marshall 12, UCF 13
Saves: Marshall 7 (WITHROW, Daniel 6; TEAM 1), UCF 5 (Doyle, Shawn 5)
Corner Kicks: Marshall 5, UCF 1
Fouls: Marshall 20, UCF 12
Offsides: Marshall 1, UCF 2