No. 9 UCF vs. Cincinnati |
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – There is a lot on the line Friday evening as the UCF men’s soccer team hosts Cincinnati for the last match of the regular season at 7 p.m. In the event of a win for UCF, The Knights will clinch at least a share of the American Athletic Conference regular season championship.
Prior to the match, UCF will honor its 10 seniors.
The Knights enter the match 11-2-2 overall and 4-1-1 in The American after securing first place in the conference with a 2-1 win at Memphis last weekend.
In the rest of the conference standings, SMU is tied with UCF with 13 points, while UConn and USF are tied for third with 11 points each. UCF boasts the best overall record in the conference as the only team with 11 wins and fewest losses with two.
THE OPPONENT
- Cincinnati is 1-13-1 overall and 1-5 in The American.
- The Bearcats are currently on a six-game losing streak and have not won a game since Sept. 29 when they defeated Temple for their only conference win.
- Cincinnati did not make the conference tournament and is in last place in the standings.
- Last season, the Knights and Bearcats went into overtime where Cal Jennings scored the game winner in the 2-1 victory. That was the Knights’ fifth straight win and the last match of the regular season.
KNIGHT BITES
- GETTING THAT BREAD - As a team, UCF is top six in all of Division I in assists per game (5th), points per game (3rd), scoring offense (4th), total goals (6th), total points (5th), and is first in shots and shots on goal per game.
- MAMA, THERE GOES THAT MAN - Jennings leads the nation in points per game (3.00) and shots per game (5.29). Jennings is second in the country in total goals (19), total points (42), goals per game (1.36), and shots on goal per game (3.07).
- WE OWN OCTOBER - The Knights played six matches in the month of October and went unbeaten in each match for a 5-0-1 record.
- 11 WINS - MAKE A WISH - UCF’s 11 wins are the most wins they have had in a season since 2011 when they won 12. Head Coach Scott Calabrese is having one of the most successful seasons of his head coaching career with 11 victories, and a win on Friday will tie Calabrese’s best season ever of 12 wins.
- RANK THAT - UCF has won three straight matches and boasts one of the top offenses in the country breaking into the top 10 this week. The Knights are ranked 9th by the United Soccer Coaches Poll and Top Drawer and 11th by College Soccer NEws after nine weeks of play. This is the first time the Knights have been in the top 10 since 2011, when UCF was ranked eighth for two straight weeks.
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