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Knights to Open NCAA Championship Thursday at Home

Nov. 16, 2011

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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com

Purchase Tickets | NCAA Digital Program

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's soccer team will host an NCAA Championship first-round match for the second-straight year Thursday when the Knights meet Florida Gulf Coast. The match at the UCF Soccer Complex will begin at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available at UCFAthletics.com, Ticketmaster.com and the UCF Athletics ticket office at Bright House Networks Stadium. Tickets can be purchased on Friday outside the soccer complex.

When it faces the Eagles, UCF (11-5-3) will be looking to continue its successful season with a victory. The Knights have spent nearly the entire campaign in the top-25 nationally, and were ranked as high as No. 6 after starting the year 6-0-1. Last week, UCF advanced to the Conference USA Championship semifinals in Tulsa, Okla.

The game against Florida Gulf Coast will allow UCF's senior class the opportunity to play another home game. The Knights are led by the group, which includes All-C-USA First Team selections Kevan George (Roxborough, Trinidad) and Warren Creavalle (Acworth, Ga.), as well as Cameron Cooksey (Marietta, Ga.) and Spencer Scott (Palm City, Fla.).

UCF and Florida Gulf Coast will be meeting in Orlando for the second time this year. The teams played on Sept. 24 and the Eagles ended UCF's unbeaten start to the season by posting a 2-1 victory.

Florida Gulf Coast received the Atlantic Sun's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship by claiming the league tournament title with a 1-0 win over East Tennessee State Sunday. The Eagles (12-5-2) will be making their first NCAA Championship appearance.

In 2010, the Knights rolled to a 3-0 NCAA Championship first-round victory over visiting USF. The Knights headed to Ann Arbor for the second round, where they fell 2-1 to Michigan.

On Thursday, free live video and statistics of the match will be available at UCFAthletics.com.