ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 15 UCF men's soccer team is set to begin their 2019 home slate with a three match homestand, with two of those matches happening this weekend. The Knights will face Penn State on Friday at 7 p.m. and take on the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) on Sunday at 6 p.m.
Friday the Knights will open the homestand against Penn State. The Nittany Lions come in with a record of 1-1 after a 5-0 loss to No. 5 Stanford and a 4-1 road win against Stony Brook. Penn State rifled 24 shots with half of them on target. The Nittany Lions took the early lead before Stony Brook evened things at one in the 15th minute. Penn State was able to string together three straight goals after that, with the last one coming on a penalty kick. The Knights have only played Penn State twice, with their last meeting coming in 2018 where the Black and Gold won by a score of 2-1 in the 102nd minute.
UTRGV will visit the Knights on Sunday after playing Stetson on Friday. The Vaqueros defeated Wofford in the only match they've played so far. UTRGV netted a goal in the fifth minute before knocking in the game winner in the 81st minute.
UCF looks to keep their momentum going after upsetting No. 6 North Carolina on the road last weekend. The Tar Heels jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first half on Sunday, but the Knights rallied back, finding a goal from Gianluca Arcangeli in the 63rd minute. The goal was his second of the year and at that moment, he had UCF's only two goals on the season. Cal Jennings found the game winning goal off a beautiful set piece from Louis Perez and Yoni Sorokin on a free kick. That was the first time the Knights had held a lead to that point in the season, but it was all they needed to knock off one of the nation's top teams.
The final game of the three match homestand will take place next Friday, Sept. 13 as VCU pays a visit to Orlando. That match is set to kick at 7 p.m.
SEASON TICKETS
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