Nov. 12, 2010
="" alt="Knight Head" border="0" class="imported"> Read John Denton's Knights Insider | ="" alt="Twitter Logo" border="0" class="imported">Follow us on Twitter | ="" alt="Facebook Logo" border="0" class="imported">Get social with the Knights on Facebook
By Pat Salvas
UCFAthletics.com
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (UCFAthletics.com) - The second-seeded UCF men's soccer team fell in its semifinal match-up with sixth-seeded Tulsa, 2-1, Friday night in the Conference USA Tournament in Memphis. The Knights will now wait to see if they will receive an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament during Monday's selection show.
"In the end we played well," head coach Bryan Cunningham said. "It took us 15 minutes to really settle into the game and, unfortunately, Tulsa had already scored by that point.
"We believe that we are an NCAA team and will see how everything turns out for us on Monday."
UCF drops to 11-4-3 with the loss, while Tulsa will head to its fourth-straight C-USA Championship Game Sunday with the one-goal win. The Golden Hurricane will take on South Carolina after the Gamecocks upset top-seeded SMU, 2-1, earlier in the day.
The Knights fell behind early as Ashley McInnes put Tulsa up 1-0 in the fifth minute.
Like it had so many times before this season, UCF fought back for the equalizer. Sophomore and All-C-USA First Team member Nik Robson (Auckland, New Zealand) scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season in the 32nd minute to tie the game. Fellow first teamer Warren Creavalle (Acworth, Ga.) was credited with an assist on the goal, his fourth of the year.
"I give the guys a lot of credit to come back and get the equalizer," Cunningham added. "We played well in the second half, but we were unable to capitalize the way Tulsa did to score the goal. It was a back-and-forth game and we can't give up two goals in conference games and expect to win, we have to remain solid defensively."
Hunter Christiansen's tally in the 61st minute gave Tulsa the lead for good as he scored the game-winning goal on shot from the top of the box after a short run through midfield.
The Knights tried to even the match again with several scoring opportunities, but were unable to find the back of the net.
Sophomore goalkeeper Shawn Doyle (Ft. Myers, Fla.) had his second consecutive strong showing against the Golden Hurricane, turning aside seven shots on Friday night. In the team's last meeting a week ago, Doyle stopped a career-high 11 shots in the 1-1 tie. Ray Clark stopped four UCF shots in earning the win at the other end of the field.
The men's soccer team will have an NCAA Tournament Selection Show viewing party on Monday afternoon. Details regarding the location will be released in the coming days.