Oct. 18, 2010
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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - After battling back for a 1-1 tie at No. 20 South Carolina Saturday night, the No. 22 UCF men's soccer team (8-2-2) will next travel to Blacksburg, Va., to face Virginia Tech (4-8-1) on Tuesday, Oct. 19 at 4 p.m. The matchup marks UCF's final game of a three-game road trip. The contest also marks the last non-conference road game of the season for the Knights.
The first two games of the current road trip saw the Knights play to consecutive 1-1 draws at Kentucky and South Carolina. The ties allowed the Knights to remain unbeaten in Conference USA this season as they currently hold the top spot in the conference standings with a 4-0-2 record and 14 points.
Similar to its game against Kentucky, UCF fell behind early against South Carolina. However, in the opening minutes of the second half, sophomore Ben Hunt (Auckland, New Zealand) buried his first goal of the season on a rebound from a Yaron Bacher (Atlanta, Ga.) shot from 20 yards out to tie it at 1-1. Hunt's goal proved to be the final tally as neither team could find the back of the net for the rest of the game.
In Virginia Tech's most recent game, the Hokies suffered an overtime loss to No. 6 Virginia, 2-1. After taking a lead midway through the first half, Virginia Tech allowed Virginia to score a late goal to tie the game before eventually falling in the opening minutes of overtime.
Mike Minutillo scored the lone goal of the contest for the Hokies in the overtime loss to the Cavaliers. His five goals and 10 points are team bests in 2010, while Greg Cochrane's four assists lead all Virginia Tech players. Goalkeeping duties have been split for the Hokies this season between Kyle Renfro and James Daly. Renfro has a 3-3-1 record and has a save percentage of .760, while posting a goals-against average of 0.97. Daly is 0-5 with a goals-against average of 3.09 and a save percentage of .561.
Notes:
Unbeaten Streak: The Knights' 4-0-2 C-USA record is the longest unbeaten streak in conference since joining C-USA in 2005. UCF's 5-0-2 record in the past seven games is the team's longest unbeaten streak since winning streaks under coach Jim Rudy in the late 70s and early 80s.
10 Year Reunion:The Knights and Hokies last played in 2000, a 3-3 tie. UCF is 0-2-1 overall against Virginia Tech and will travel to Blacksburg for the first time.
Hunting for Goals: Sophomore Ben Hunt's goal against South Carolina was the Knights' lone goal. Last season, Hunt recorded three goals and one assist to place third in points on the team.
Conference Break: After having played the last six games against C-USA opponents, the Knights will take on ACC opponent Virginia Tech. In two of the final three home games, UCF will host non-conference opponents Stetson on Oct. 26 and North Florida on Nov. 2.