Nov. 9, 2011
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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
TULSA, Okla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Sophomore McKauly Tulloch (Kingston, Jamaica) scored three goals, including the gamewinner four minutes into overtime, to lift the No. 22 UCF men's soccer team to a 4-3 victory over Memphis in the Conference USA Championship quarterfinals Wednesday at Hurricane Stadium. UCF (11-4-3), the No. 3 seed at the event, advances to the tournament quarterfinals, where the Knights will meet second seed UAB Friday at 8:30 p.m. Eastern.
After Memphis' (11-6-1) Chandler Gagnon scored in the 89th minute to send the contest into overtime, Tulloch scored to record the hat trick and give the Knights the win in the 94th minute. The forward secured a free ball in the box, and blasted a shot past Memphis goalkeeper Conor Hurley.
"It never goes according to script," UCF head coach Bryan Cunningham said. "We have an experienced group. They kept battling and persevered. I couldn't be happier for our players."
The teams traded scores throughout the match. After Tulloch headed in a cross from senior Spencer Scott (Palm City, Fla.) in the 61st minute, the Knights appeared to have the game in hand until Gagnon scored with time winding down.
Tulloch's hat trick was the first for the program since 2004. UCF's leading scorer, now with 15 goals on the season, Tulloch entered the match without a goal since Oct. 1 as he battled injuries throughout the month. An All-C-USA Third Team pick, he moved into a tie for seventh on the school single-season goals register following his performance against the Tigers.
Senior Warren Creavalle (Acworth, Ga.) played 77 minutes Wednesday after being hobbled by injuries in recent weeks.
"It is good to have everybody back healthy," Cunningham said. "For the first time in a while, everybody is 100 percent and healthy. (Tulloch) is back doing what he does best, scoring goals. And as always, our players do a great job of finding him."
Tulloch also picked up an assist on junior Malcolm Reed's (Summerville, Ga.) first-half goal.
Redshirt freshman Sebastian Evers (Miami, Fla.) totaled eight saves for the Knights, and was one of six UCF players who logged all 94 minutes. Senior Kevan George (Roxborough, Trinidad) played the entire match and assisted on Tulloch's goal 13 minutes into the game.
The Knights and Tigers, who were the sixth seed at the championship, were meeting for the second time this season. On Oct. 29, host Memphis held on for a 3-2 victory over UCF.
UCF was playing its first neutral-site match of the year. The contest served as the team's fourth overtime game during the campaign. The Tigers entered the league tournament having won three of their last four contests.
UCF and UAB met on Oct. 15 in Birmingham and the Blazers, who are now ranked 16th nationally, posted a 1-0 win.
"We now have to turn our attention to UAB. We suffered a tough loss there in October. I hope our players will be up for the game, which will feature two evenly-matched teams," Cunningham said.
The C-USA Championship title game is set for Sunday at 2 p.m. Eastern. The contest will air live nationally on CBS Sports Network.