ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 16 UCF men's soccer team will end their first homestand of the season as the VCU Rams pay their first visit to Orlando in program history. The match will kick off from the UCF Soccer Complex at 7 p.m. on Friday.
UCF has a chance to extend their unbeaten streak to four matches in Friday's battle between black and gold schools. The Knights only loss of the season came on opening night at No. 4 Wake Forest. Since then, UCF has gone 2-0-1 and looks to remain unbeaten in the month of September.
The Knights have gotten early leads in their last two matches but have seen both go to double overtime. UCF ended up tying with Penn State 2-2 after holding a 2-1 halftime edge and led UTRGV 2-0 after the first 45 before watching the equalizer find the back of the net in the 90th minute. Yoni Sorokin was able to crack the tie in the 107th minute on a penalty kick that gave the Knights the 3-2 victory over the Vaqueros.
VCU has also seen their fair share of tight contests to begin the season. Each match they have played in ended in a 1-0 result, with the Rams prevailing on their opening night. They've dropped two straight matches, with their last coming in overtime against NJIT despite the Rams outshooting them 19-9. Martin Ngoh was their leading shot taker in that contest, firing off six shot attempts with three landing on target.
The Rams have only scored one goal across their three matches. They were slated to have one additional match but had to cancel it due to Hurricane Dorian. In comparison, UCF has scored eight goals through four games, with three of them coming in their last contest. The Black and Gold have gradually increased their goal totals this season, scoring one in the first game, two in the second and third and posted a total of three goals in their last contest.
VCU is one of the seven teams that the Knights have on their schedule that finished 2018 with an RPI of 75 or better. The Rams finished with an RPI of 71 and finished out the year 10-6.
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