ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF men’s soccer team has earned their highest ranking in program history at No. 7 announced Tuesday by the United Soccer Coaches (USC). This is the fifth straight week the Knights have made the top 20 and third straight week in the top 10.
The Black and Gold are also ranked seventh by College Soccer News, 12th by Top Drawer, and are 13th in the most recent RPI. USC has also ranked UCF as the best team in the East.
The Knights are 12-2-2 overall and 5-1-1 in the American Athletic Conference to close out regular season play.
The Knights finish the regular season on an eight-game unbeaten streak and have not lost a match since Sept. 21 in a 1-0 loss to Temple. In home matches, UCF went 7-1-2 before hosting the conference tournament, and 3-0-1 in conference matches at the UCF Soccer Complex.
UCF ended the regular season with a 1-0 win over Cincinnati, which secured them a share of The American regular season title for the first time since 2004 and for the first time since joining The American. With the win, the Knights also received home field advantage for the Tournament.
The Black and Gold boast one of the best offenses in all of Division I. For 11 straight weeks of play, the Knights have been ranked top 10 in the nation in almost every offensive category including total assists, total goals, total points, scoring offense, points per game, assists per game, goals per game, and have been the top team in shots per game and shots on goal per game.
UCF is also the top team in The American in all of those categories.
This season, Knights have produced three major award winners (Offensive, Midfielder, Goalkeeper of the Year), seven All-Conference selections, and eight Player of the Week awards from The American.
UCF is the best men’s soccer team in the state of Florida and the only team in the state with 12 wins amongst Division I programs.
Cal Jennings has been grabbing national attention as he sits second in the country in goals per game (1.27), points per game (2.80), shots on goal per game (3.07), total goals and points. Jennings is third in the nation in game-winning goals (six), and first in Division I in shots per game (5.33).
The junior leads The American in all those same categories.
Up Next
The Knights have earned a first-round bye in The American tournament after defeating Cincinnati, 1-0 Friday evening and earning the regular season champions title. UCF will also host the tournament at the UCF Soccer Complex, Nov. 6-10.
The Knights will play the winner of the UConn/Temple matchup at 7 p.m., Nov. 8.
All tournament information can be found here.
This is the first regular season title for UCF since 2004 and first in The American.
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