ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – It was a game to remember for Cal Jennings who joined the UCF men’s soccer hat trick club netting three goals in the 4-1 win over Liberty Friday evening at the UCF Soccer Complex.
Jennings put in 65 minutes of play with four shots on goal in his second game of the 2018 campaign.
Gorka Aperribay registered his first goal and assist of the season, while Louis Perez and Hattabiou Barry each recorded an assist.
The Knights move to 2-1 on the season with Yannik Oettl mirroring the record as he picked up his second win. UCF’s dominant defense led to Oettl having to face just two shots on goal in his 90 minutes.
Jennings and Aperribay paced the Knights with five shots each with Barry tallying three.
SCORING
- UCF | 11:44 | Aperribay poked the ball away from a Liberty defender allowing Jennings to beat the keeper one on one.
- UCF | 13:09 | Perez send a perfect ball to Jennings just past midfield leading Jennings to another one on one with the Liberty keeper and nets his second goal.
- LIB | 18:04 | Matthew Zaczyk passed Kevin Mendoza a short ball inside the 18-yard box and pushed it into the bottom left corner of the net.
- UCF | 21:38 | Aperribay’s initial shot was blocked by the Liberty keeper, but the senior never gave up and grabbed his own rebound to tap it in for his first goal of the season.
- UCF | 66:50 | Jennings grabbed his first career hat trick after netting a beautiful cross from Barry after Sorokin setup the play for the fourth and final goal of the game.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Jennings’ hat trick is the first of his career and the 36th in the program’s history.
- Scott Calabrese picked up his 95th victory as a head coach.
- The Knights’ 19 shots is their second most this season bumping up their average to 19 shots per game.
- Yanis Leerman made his first collegiate soccer debut as he was given the nod to start on the backline. Leerman played all 90 minutes in his first start coming in and helped the Knights allow just two shots on goal.
- Mauricio Villalobos Vega made his collegiate debut registering 41 minutes and one shot.
COMMENTS FROM THE MATCH
“Liberty is a really good team and they had great possession in the first half, but we countered them quickly. Cal was lethal tonight and that’s what we were hoping to get from him and we are happy about that.” – Head Coach Scott Calabrese.
UP NEXT
The homestand continues for the Knights as they host Virginia Tech for a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. at the UCF Soccer Complex. Sunday’s matchup will be featured as Game of the Week and a UCF men’s soccer camper’s reunion day.
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.
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