Nov. 10, 2010
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By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's soccer team will begin the 2010 Conference USA Tournament Friday night at 8:30 p.m. as the No. 2 seed. The Knights earned the second seed and a bye into the semifinals with a 4-1-3 conference record for 15 points. UCF posted its best record in six years as it finished the season 11-3-3 overall.
UCF will play the winner of Wednesday night's game between No. 3 Kentucky and No. 6 Tulsa.
The Knights were 1-1-3 against opponents that will make up the six-team field this weekend at Memphis' Mike Rose Soccer Complex. Below is a breakdown of those contests.
No. 1 SMU (Oct. 2): W, 2-1
In front of a record home crowd, UCF handed SMU its only loss of the season. The game pitted the No. 5 Mustangs against a Knights team that was unbeaten at home. Sophomore Nik Robson (Auckland, New Zealand) opened up scoring early in the 12th minute, finishing a pass from Warren Creavalle (Acworth, Ga.). SMU responded quickly, though, and buried the equalizer 15 minutes later, sending the teams into the break tied at 1-1. Junior Spencer Scott (Palm City, Fla.) netted the game-winner in the 66th minute after receiving a pass from A.J. Nelson (Pointe Vedra, Fla.) down the right side. Scott buried a hard shot into the upper corner of the near post. SMU's loss in this game proved to be the team's only defeat of the season, as it concluded regular season play with a 15-1-0 (7-1-0) record.
No. 3 Kentucky (Oct. 13): T, 1-1
Coming off a three-game home sweep of conference opponents, the Knights faced Kentucky for their first game of a three-game road swing. Kentucky got on the board early after scoring in the third minute of the game. UCF went into the half down, 1-0, but Creavelle scored the equalizing goal in the 73rd minute. After playing two overtimes, both teams failed to find the back of the net, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. Kentucky concluded its season with a 7-7-4 (4-2-2) record.
No. 4 South Carolina (Oct. 16): T, 1-1
The Knights faced South Carolina on the road three days after drawing even with Kentucky, and this matchup a saw similar result. The Gamecocks pulled ahead, 1-0, within the first 15 minutes, and would take a one-goal lead into halftime. Sophomore Ben Hunt (Auckland, New Zealand) found the back of the net for the Knights in the opening minutes of the second half. The equalizing goal was his first of the season. Again, neither team could find the back of the net in both overtimes, ending the match in a 1-1 tie. South Carolina ended the season with a 9-6-2 (4-3-1) record.
No. 5 UAB (Oct. 29): L, 2-1
The Blazers handed UCF its first and only loss at home this season. The Knights came into the game having won the past six games at the UCF Soccer Complex. UAB took a 1-0 lead in the third minute and held onto that lead until Robson found the back of the net in the opening minutes of the second half. The Blazers responded quickly though, as Kevin Sawchak scored his second of the match and the eventual game-winner only six minutes after the Knights evened the score. UAB finished with a 10-6-1 (4-4-1) record.
No. 6 Tulsa (Nov. 5): T, 1-1
In each teams' final game of the regular season, UCF traveled to Oklahoma to face No. 24 Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane got on the board, scoring in the 23rd minute of the game. Freshman Christian Eissele (Lake Mary, Fla.) scored his third goal of the season to even the match 1-1 before half. The second half and both overtimes did not produce another goal, and the teams ended the regular season with a 1-1 tie. Tulsa concluded its season with a 9-5-2 (3-3-2) record.