RV Memphis vs. #6 UCF |
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 6 UCF men's soccer team is set for their 2019 regular season home finale as they host the Memphis Tigers on Friday at 7 p.m. The match doubles as Senior Knight.
UCF's last match saw them go to overtime for the seventh time this season. UCF was trailing after the first half for just the second time this season as Stetson netted the first goal of the match in the 28th minute. The Knights rebounded with a goal in the 51st and 80th minutes to take the lead. The Hatters would strike back in the 85th minute, forcing the match into overtime. Jennings would eventually find the game winning goal off assists from Dean and Yanis Leerman. The goal also represented Jennings' 40th career goal, putting him fourth all-time on UCF's career goals scored list.
SENIOR KNIGHT
Seniors Cal Jennings, Jonathan Dean and Richard Amon will be playing their final regular season home match in a UCF uniform. Jennings and Amon will be honored on the field prior to the match, as Dean was honored on last season's senior night before finding out he would be granted an extra year of eligibility. These seniors played a major role in the transition to the Scott Calabrese era at UCF.
THE OPPONENT
Memphis is right behind the Knights in the American Athletic Conference Standings. They have received votes for the past four weeks in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and currently sit with the nation's No. 22 RPI. The Tigers currently have 12 points with a conference record of 4-1 while UCF comes in with 13 points with a league mark of 4-0-1. Overall, the Tigers are 10-4 with wins over No. 3 SMU and No. 10 Xavier. They have won two of their last four matches, falling to Temple and Central Arkansas.
Sam Ashton leads the way on the scoresheet for Memphis, tallying 10 goals and 23 points. He has only taken 12 shots on goal in 17 shot attempts this season. Christoforos Kourtis leads the team in the helper category with six assists and has collected 12 points, good enough for second on the team. The Tigers are likely to start Parker Lackland in net. He has three clean sheets this season and has a goals allowed average of 1.34 and a save percentage of .640.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
This game holds a lot of weight for both team's postseason implications. Should the Knights win, they would clinch at least a share of the regular season conference title. A UCF victory would secure the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, giving the Black and Gold a bye in the first round. If Memphis were to win, they would take control of the top spot with one conference game left on each team's schedule.
The Knights look to extend their longest unbeaten streak in program history of 13 matches to 14. Their previous longest streak was 10, which was achieved three times. The first came in 1980, the second in 1982 and the most recent in 2018.
BY THE NUMBERS
This matchup could see a lot of goals as two top-15 scoring offenses are set to go toe to toe. Memphis brings the 12th best scoring offense in the nation to Orlando with a 2.29 goals per game average. The Knights bring a similar offense to the table, ranking 10th in scoring offense with a mark of 2.36 goals per match. UCF ranks 9th in the nation in points per game with 7.14 while Memphis checks in at 11th with 6.86. The Black and Gold still lead the country in corner kicks per game, averaging 7.79 per match.
The all-time series edge is held by the Knights by a count of 10-7-4. The last three matchups have been even as the two teams are 1-1-1 against each other. Six of the last ten matches between the two sides have gone to overtime with UCF holding a 2-1-3 mark in those contests.
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