Sept. 16, 2010
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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's soccer team will head north for games against UMass and Army this weekend. The Knights will take on the Minutemen Friday at 3:30 p.m. in Amherst, Mass., before heading to West Point, N.Y., to take on the Black Knights Sunday at 1 p.m.
UCF is coming off a 1-1 weekend at UNC-Wilmington. The Knights split their weekend at the Courtyard by Marriot/UNCW Classic with a loss to the host team, 1-0, on Friday night and a 2-0 victory against Long Island on Sunday afternoon.
The Knights bring their 3-1 record to UMass on Sunday. The Minutemen have yet to post a win this season (0-2-1) and enter the game having played to a 0-0 draw against Fairfield in their last contest. Friday's game will mark the first of eight consecutive home matches for UMass.
The UCF coaching staff met the staff from UMass during a 2008 tournament at Old Dominion. The Knights and the Minutemen did not play each other that weekend, but both the coaches and the players connected with the opposition. That meeting resulted in the scheduling of Friday's game just over two years later.
"I am looking forward to going up to play UMass," head coach Bryan Cunningham said. "They're a perennial NCAA Tournament team that plays in a tough conference. This game should be a good test for us moving forward this season."
Army will host the second road game of the weekend for UCF. The Black Knights lost in their most recent game, 1-0, to Bryant on Wednesday afternoon. The loss drops the Cadets to 0-5 this season under first-year head coach Russell Payne. Army has been a second-half team all season, scoring all three of its goals in the final 45 minutes by three different players.
"The whole team is excited about going to play at West Point," Cunningham said. "Army is a good team and they play a tough style that should make our game an interesting one to play."
Sophomore goalkeeper Shawn Doyle has been solid in net for the Knights this season, allowing just one goal in four games. In the team's most recent game, the UCF keeper turned aside five LIU shots in earning his third shutout of 2010. Doyle's 0.25 goals-against average ranks 11th nationally.
Spencer Scott and A.J. Nelson each scored their second goals of the season in the 2-0 win over the Blackbirds. Nik Robson leads the Knights with three tallies in 2010, while also leading the team with three assists and nine points. Scott also has three assists to go along with his two goals for seven points.