Nov. 11, 2011
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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
TULSA, Okla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The No. 22 UCF men's soccer team finished with a shot advantage Friday evening, but it was not enough as No. 16 UAB got past the Knights, 1-0, in semifinal play at the Conference USA Championship at Hurricane Stadium. The Blazers scored 11 minutes into the match, and then held on for the win despite facing six second-half shots on goal.
UCF (11-5-3) finished with a 15-10 edge in overall shots. The Blazers, who improved to 13-3-3, received 11 saves from goalkeeper Carl Woszynski.
The Blazers scored the lone goal in the 11th minute when Babyele Sodade secured a cross from Moses Adeniran inside the box and then found the back of the net.
"I am very proud of our guys effort," UCF head coach Bryan Cunningham said. "Unfortunately, it was not enough. But we will keep our heads up and hopefully have a chance to play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament next week."
UCF peppered the Blazer defense with shot after shot, but each time, Woszynski made a save. The Knights had a great scoring opportunity in the 77th minute, but the goalkeeper snatched a header attempt from junior Nik Robson (Bucklands Beach, New Zealand).
"It was tough to give up that early goal. We had a lot of chances, especially in the second half, but just couldn't find the back of the net," Cunningham said. "You have to give a lot of credit to Carl Woszynski. He was outstanding tonight and made some great saves."
The Knights advanced to the semifinals by claiming a thrilling 4-3 overtime win over Memphis Wednesday. Sophomore McKauly Tulloch (Kingston, Jamaica) recorded a hat trick in the victory. On Friday, Tulloch attempted four shots, with three of the shots coming on goal. Robson had three shot attempts, all on goal.
UCF's defense limited UAB to only two shots on goal. Seniors Kevan George (Roxborough, Trinidad) and Spencer Scott (Palm City, Fla.), juniors Ben Hunt (Bucklands Beach, New Zealand) and Andrew Quintana (Miami, Fla.) and redshirt freshman Sebastian Evers (Miami, Fla.) played all 90 minutes for the Knights.
"I am so proud of our senior class," Cunningham said. "They were playing in their third of a possible four C-USA Championship semifinals. That is a quite a feat."
UAB and UCF were meeting for the second time. The Blazers held on for a 1-0 victory over the Knights on Oct. 15 in Birmingham. UAB will meet SMU Sunday in the C-USA tournament title game.
The Knights, who have spent the entire season in the top-25 nationally, will learn if they have received an at-large berth to the NCAA Championship on Monday.