Set For Season OpenerSet For Season Opener

Set For Season Opener

UCF at Penn State
Friday, Aug. 24, 2018
Watch

ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) -The UCF men’s soccer team is headed to University Park to open the regular season against Penn State Friday evening at 7 p.m inside Jeffrey Field. The matchup will be streamed live on BTN+.

The Knights have been picked to win the American Athletic Conference and landed Cal Jennings, Yoni Sorokin, and Andreas Steineger on the Preseason All-Conference Team.

THE MATCHUP

  • Overall series record against Penn State: 0-1-0.
  • The Knights and Nittany Lions have met only once before in 2008.
  • Penn State picked up the win, 2-0.
  • This will be the first Big Ten opponent the Knights have dueled with since 2015 after facing Northwestern.

  • The Nittany Lions return 22 student-athletes from the 2017 roster, including nine starters.

NOTES

  • Head coach Scott Calabrese enters his second season at the helm of the Knights. In one year with the Knights, the Black and Gold finished runner-up in The American regular season after winning their last four league matches and tallying an eight-match unbeaten streak to finish the season 8-6-2.
  • The 2018 squad returns 20 Knights including all-conference honorees, Jennings, Sorokin, Steineger, Hattabiou Barry, and Louis Perez.
  • During the 2017 season in The American, the Knights finished first in points (39), goals (13), and assists (13), while recently graduated Matias Pyysalo dominated the offensive game taking Offensive Player of the Year honors.
  • The Knights won both exhibition games heading into the regular season defeating Eastern Florida, 4-1 and FAU, 1-0.
  • In the matches, Barry recorded two goals, while Jennings, Sorokin, and Noah Murphy also netted goals.
  • Season Preview: The Coaches
  • Season Preview: The Culture
  • Season Preview: The Team

SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2018 campaign are on sale now. Fans looking to purchase tickets can call (407) 823-1000 or visit UCFKnights.com to secure them today. For men's soccer tickets CLICK HERE.

FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Men’s Soccer on social media on Facebook (/UCFMensSoccer), Twitter (@UCF_MSoccer) and Instagram (@UCF.MSoccer).

GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone! The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news.