April 2, 2010
AUBURNDALE, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's soccer team continued a spring schedule against some extremely stiff competition recently, playing the Tampa Bay Rowdies at Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale, Fla. Competing in front of over 2,000 fans, the Knights fell 3-0 to the inaugural member of the professional North American Soccer League.
Despite the boisterous crowd, the Knights held tough early and the teams were still scoreless through the first 25 minutes. The Rowdies opened the scoring in the 27th minute with a goal from Takuya Yamada and the home team took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
The Rowdies were able to add two more goals in the second half for the final margin, but UCF head coach Bryan Cunningham was more pleased with his team's play in the second 45 minutes.
"We had a very weak first half, where the crowd was extremely loud and it took a while for our players to get a hold of the game," Cunningham said. "We came out in the second half with much more poise and composure. We created a few chances and began playing much better team defense."
UCF will conclude its spring friendly schedule on Monday, April 12, when the Knights host the U.S. U-17 National Team at the UCF Soccer Complex. Two games will be played with the first slated for 5 p.m. and the second set for 7:30 p.m. Admission is free for all in attendance.
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.