ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – After more than two weeks of training and a pair of exhibition matches, UCF begins the Scott Calabrese era on Friday evening at Duke. The match at Koskinen Stadium is set to start at 7:30 p.m.
The Knights are scheduled to face Elon on Sunday at noon as part of the annual John Rennie Nike Invitational. Each match will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra and can be viewed on WatchESPN.
This is the first time in program history that the Knights have faced Duke and Elon.
CALLING ON CALABRESE
- Head coach Scott Calabrese is in his first season guiding the Knights.
- He spent the past three seasons at FIU, taking the program to its first NCAA Tournament in 10 years.
- The Newton, Conn., native has compiled an 85-67-20 overall mark and started the program at East Tennessee State in 2008.
- Calabrese has an experienced staff in Will Clayton, who played and coached at Wake Forest, and Paul Souders, who played for Calabrese at Clemson and coached at New Mexico.
THE FINNISH FINISHER
- Senior Matias Pyysalo was tabbed as The American Offensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches.
- The Helsinki, Finland, native tallied six of his 10 goals in conference play.
- The 2016 American Athletic Conference Player of the Year paced the league with 14 points and delivered game-winning goals vs. SMU (10/1), UConn (10/22) and Cincinnati (11/5)
- Pyysalo ranked among the nation's leaders in goals (15th/0.63) and points (16th/1.56) per game.
- Entering his senior campaign, he has totaled 18 goals and 14 assists as a Knight.
TALENTED CLASS
- The Knights' 12–member signing class was announced by Calabrese in August.
- It features three Division I transfers in Noah Murphy (Saint Louis), Ricardo Oliveros (Louisville) and Max Stiegwardt (Louisville).
- There are four newcomers that played abroad – Hattabiou Barry (France), Yannik Oettl (Germany), Louis Perez (France) and Yoni Sorokin (Israel).
- Six players from the class call the Sunshine State home.
EXHIBITION EXCITEMENT
- The Knights posted a 2-0 mark in exhibition play, outscoring their opponents 10-1.
- UCF notched a 9-1 victory over Tampa and was paced by Ricardo Oliveros and Brandon Golding with each tallying two goals and one assist.
- A two-goal performance was registered by Cal Jennings, while Noah Murphy, Gorka Aperribay and Richard Amon also netted markers.
- Hattabiou Barry propelled the Knights to a 1-0 victory over Georgia Southern following a beautiful strike 23-seconds before the halftime horn.
- A pivotal penalty kick was stopped by sophomore Matthew Rosenberg in the 32nd minute.
NEXT UP
- The home opener for the Knights is set for Sept. 1 against Charlotte at 7 p.m.
- It marks the first home game for UCF in the Calabrese era.
A NEW ERA
The UCF men's soccer team is set to begin its first campaign under the guidance of head coach Scott Calabrese and will welcome seven teams to the UCF Soccer Complex. Click here or call (407) 823-1000 for ticket information.
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Membership to Knights Watch, the official supporters group of UCF Soccer, begins at $15 for students and $50 for fans. Packages include tickets to all home contests for men's and women's soccer, a Knights Watch T-Shirt, a soccer scarf and a variety of free catered tailgates. To become a member, click here.
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