Sept. 20, 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 Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The No. 8 UCF men's soccer team will look to continue its unbeaten start to the season Friday when the Knights host Florida Gulf Coast at the UCF Soccer Complex. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
UCF (6-0-1) has already recorded its best start to a season since the program moved to the Division I level in 1984. For the second-straight week, UCF is listed at No. 8 in the Soccer America poll, good for the best ranking in school history. The Knights are one of just 11 unbeaten squads in the country.
Tickets to the contest will be available on Friday outside the soccer complex. The Gold Pass, which offers season tickets to all men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball, softball and track & field events, is still available by calling (407) UCF-1000 or by visiting UCFAthletics.com.
The Knights will be playing at home for the first time since Sept. 7. The squad completed a three-match road stretch Sunday in Washington, D.C., with a 2-0 victory over American.
UCF will face a solid Florida Gulf Coast (2-2-2) team that is coming off a 1-0 shutout win over Saint Louis in Tampa Sunday. The Eagles came up just short against 5th-ranked UC-Irvine Friday, falling 2-1.
"We are looking forward to facing a very good Florida Gulf Coast team Friday," UCF head coach Bryan Cunningham said. "They have played a difficult schedule. They will come here having already faced some of the best teams in the country."
The Knights have outscored their opponents 18-5 this season, and also own a 101-64 shot advantage. UCF is ninth nationally, averaging 2.57 goals per contest.
Sophomore McKauly Tulloch (Kingston, Jamaica) leads the country with nine goals on the year, while junior Nik Robson (Auckland, New Zealand) has totaled three goals and four assists. Senior Kevan George (Decatur, Ga.) is tied for third in the nation with five assists.
UCF's back line is led by junior Andrew Quintana (Miami, Fla.), who has helped the Knights record three shutouts this season. In the net, junior Shawn Doyle (Fort Myers, Fla.) boasts a 0.57 goals against average, which ranks 20th nationally.
Due to an event at the UCF Arena, fans should park in the baseball grass lot behind the baseball scoreboard, or use the E8 surface lot off of Orion Blvd.