June 4, 2010
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By Andrew Gavin
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's soccer team announced its 2010 schedule Friday, with the 17-game slate highlighted by three games against NCAA Tournament teams and seven home contests. The Knights will open their 2010 campaign with back-to-back home games, hosting Jacksonville (Sept. 1) and Florida Atlantic (Sept. 6) at the UCF Soccer Complex.
UCF's non-conference schedule features teams from seven different conferences around the country, including two teams which won their conference championships a season ago to advance to the NCAA Tournament in UNC Wilmington and Stetson.
The opening two home contests will be the lone games in Orlando for UCF in the month of September. The Knights will embark on a five-game road trip beginning with the UNC Wilmington Tournament Sept. 10-12, where UCF will play the host Seahawks and Long Island. UNC Wilmington went 14-3-5 a season ago and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
A trip the following weekend will take the Knights north again for contests at UMass (Sept. 17) and Army (Sept. 19). The team will close its September schedule with its first Conference USA game, a trip to Marshall on Sept. 26. UCF defeated Marshall 1-0 in 2009.
October opens with three-straight C-USA home games as UCF hosts SMU (Oct. 2), FIU (Oct. 5) and Memphis (Oct. 9). Trips to C-USA affiliate members Kentucky (Oct. 13) and South Carolina (Oct. 16) follow before the Knights step out of conference play for a challenging game at Virginia Tech (Oct. 19).
In-state games against Stetson (Oct. 26) at home and at North Florida (Nov. 2) conclude the Knights' non-conference schedule. UCF will celebrate Senior Day by hosting C-USA foe UAB on Friday, Oct. 29 before finishing the regular season on the road against defending C-USA champion Tulsa on Nov. 5. Stetson and Tulsa both advanced to the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
UCF will have a strong core of players returning for 2010, including all-conference performers Yaron Bacher (Atlanta, Ga.), Kevan George (Decatur, Ga.) and Nicholas-Keown Robson (Auckland, New Zealand). Robson returns for his sophomore season after leading the team in points (22), goals (8) and assists (6) as a freshman.