ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – After trailing 2-0 heading into the second half, the one-seeded UCF men’s soccer team rallied to score three unanswered goals to win 3-2, in double overtime over the four-seeded UConn Huskies.
The No. 7 Knights will play in the American Athletic Conference Tournament championship on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m., battling two-seeded SMU at the UCF Soccer Complex. This is the second-straight season UCF has made it to the finals.
Max Stiegwardt netted the game-winning goal, and his first of the season, in the 110th minute off a free kick to propel the Knights to victory. Cal Jennings and Yoni Sorokin each added a goal in the second half forcing overtime.
UCF is now 13-2-2 on the season, the most wins they have had since 1998.
SCORING
- UCONN | 28:34 | UConn intercepted a pass off a defensive miscue, which led to a one-on-one with Oettl. Josh Burnett netted his third goal of the season with a ball between the legs of Oettl.
- UCONN | 42:02 | Abdou Mbacke Thiam grabbed his 14th goal of the season after he collected a the ball inside the six-yard box and headed it in.
- UCF | 48:11 | Sorokin found a ball from Jennings and delivered a header just underneath the crossbar for his fourth goal of the season.
- UCF | 81:53 | Gideon Adu-Peprah fed Jennings the ball inside the 18-yard box. Jennings made a 180-degree turn around the defender and fired in the equalizer.
- UCF | 109:45 | Stiegwardt lined up on the near sideline for the free kick and curled the ball in to the far post for the golden goal.
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Saturday’s final will be a rematch of last season’s Tournament final between the Knights and the Mustangs. In 2017, SMU won, 2-1 in double overtime.
- UCF extends its unbeaten streak to nine games and have not lost a game since Sept. 21.
- The Knights took a season-high 33 shots in 110 minutes putting seven on target.
- Yannik Oettl made his 17th consecutive start between the posts making six saves.
- The Black and Gold held the advantage in corners taking 11 to UConn’s five.
- During the regular season, the Knights shutout SMU, 2-0 at the UCF Soccer Complex.
- Jennings’ tallied a goal and an assist in the win bringing his total goals to 20 and total points to 45.
UP NEXT
The Knights will face SMU in The American Tournament finals on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed live on ESPN3 and tickets are available here. All information on The American Conference Tournament can be found on Tournament Central.
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