Aug. 17, 2011
="" 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 Jordean Matthews
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFathletics.com) - The UCF men's soccer team will begin the 2011 season in unfamiliar territory: the national spotlight. The Knights have been ranked No. 32 in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com in its annual preseason college rankings.
UCF, a team that was picked to finish second in Conference USA by the league's nine head coaches, first cracked the national Top 25 last season. But after a stellar 2010 campaign, the Knights enter this season as one of the top teams in college soccer.
"We have received some very nice honors this offseason from several different outlets, and for that we are very appreciative that people think highly of what we are doing here," head coach Bryan Cunningham said. "Having said that, we are now focused on the games ahead of us and what we need to do on the field to get better every day."
The Knights finished last season with a record of 12-5-3 and earned a berth in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. UCF is one of four C-USA programs ranked in the Top 48 as listed by TopDrawerSoccer.com with SMU (No. 7), defending champion South Carolina (No. 20) and Tulsa (No. 29) also making appearances.
The Knights begin the 2011 season in a scrimmage against Tampa Wednesday, Aug. 17, and an exhibition contest Saturday, Aug. 20 against St. Leo. Both games are set for 7 p.m. start times and will take place at the newly expanded UCF Soccer Stadium.