DELAND, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Behind the foot of Cal Jennings, the Knights pulled off a come-from-behind victory in a matter of two minutes and six seconds. Jennings recorded his second hat trick of the season after scoring an equalizer in the 52nd minute followed by a pair of late goals to secure the win.
UCF (5-1-1) was slow to start with just four shots in the first half. After the break, the Knights came out a different team taking two shots in the opening minutes. It didn’t take long for UCF to tie the game when Ricardo Oliveros sent a cross from the left side inside the six-yard box to Jennings.
The Knights fell behind again in the 84th minute after a well-executed set piece from Stetson to make it 2-1.
In the next two minutes and six seconds, the Knights tacked on three more goals to top the Hatters on their home turf.
In the second half, the Knights took 14 shots and added three saves from Yannik Oettl.
SCORING
- STET | 39:43 | A one on one with Oettl and Erwan Colas led to a Colas steal and a shot from 10 yards out.
- UCF | 51:54 | Oliveros sent a ball into the six-yard box from the left side and found Jennings to tap it in.
- STET | 83:05 | Stetson was awarded a corner kick and with the delivery, William Suaut headed in his second goal of the season.
- UCF | 87:07 | Hattabiou Barry and Yoni Sorokin connected to tie the game at 2-2 after Sorokin snuck a ball into Barry whoe shot it from way outside the 18-yeard box for his first goal of the 2018 campaign.
- UCF | 87:16 | After a throw in from UCF, Richard Amon headed a ball perfectly to Jennings to grab his second goal of the night and second goal for the Knights in nine seconds.
- UCF | 89:13 | It was Amon and Jennings again who connected for the final goal of the evening after Amon fed the ball to Jennings from UCF's side of the midfield. Jennings raced down the field to beat out a Hatter defender and after putting on the moves, Jennings snuck a ball between two defenders placing it right inside the post.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Jennings is the first Knight to score two hat tricks in a season since 1999.
- The nine seconds it took for UCF to score its second and third goal was the second fastest by a team in Division I history.
- Head Coach Scott Calabrese grabbed his 98th career win as a head coach.
- The Knights are now 34-10-3 against Stetson.
- Mauricio Villalobos-Vega got his first collegiate start. He finished with 65 minutes compiling two shots and one on target.
- Jennings has scored nine of UCF’s 16 goals this season.
- The Knights are 3-0 on the road. In those three matches, UCF has compiled 28 points, nine goals, and 24 shots on goal.
- Brandon Golding made his 2018 debut against Stetson recording 18 minutes and one shot.
COMMENTS FROM THE MATCH
“It was a tough start today. Stetson had us on the back foot, but we never gave up and we were blessed with a win and an effort we can be proud of. I am happy to get on the scoresheet, but even happier for those on the team who patiently waited for their chance to play and seized the opportunity by contributing heavily today.” Jennings on the win.
“"I stepped on the field with minutes to go and we had just conceded a goal. Despite this, there was no hint or feeling that the game was over for us. We still had a lot of belief within us and through seizing this opportunity that the Lord had provided me, I wanted to do all that I could in those last minutes to see it through. As it shows, our team has tremendous fight and fortunately it worked out in the end." – CJ Campbell on the energy he brought to the pitch.
UP NEXT
American Athletic Conference play starts next week when UCF travels to Temple for their third consecutive road match. The battle begins at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21.
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.