#11 UCF Draws With #4 SMU 3-3 in Thriller#11 UCF Draws With #4 SMU 3-3 in Thriller

#11 UCF Draws With #4 SMU 3-3 in Thriller

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DALLAS, Tex. (UCFKnights.com) – In a rollercoaster ride of a match, The No. 11 UCF men's soccer team wound up drawing with the No. 4 SMU Mustangs with a score of 3-3 after two overtime periods on Sunday night. With the draw, the Knights remain unbeaten over their last nine matches.

UCF's streak of scoring within the first 15 minutes was snapped as neither team was able to find consistent possession early on. Both teams had solid opportunities but couldn't find their way onto the scoresheet in the first half. The Knights outshot SMU 13-7 in the first frame while shots on goal were even at two a side.

The scoring got going quickly once the second half began. Yoni Sorokin opened the floodgates with a header in the 47th minute off an assist from Louis Perez. The header was Sorokin's third goal of the season with Perez earning his eighth helper of the year. The assist moves Perez into a tie of fifth place on UCF's single season assists list; he has registered a point in his last five matches.

UCF tacked on another goal in the 61st minute as Hattabiou Barry netted his first of the season by spinning one into the lower right corner of the goal. Sorokin picked up the assist on the goal, his fifth of the season.

The pace of the match continued to pick up midway through the second half as SMU struck back to crack the goose egg in their goal column in the 67th minute. Henrik Bredeli scored on a rocket of a shot with two assists coming from Gabriel Costa and Nicky Hernandez. The goal was created off a short corner kick that found its way to the top of the box.

The Knights again climbed on top by two goals in the 70th minute. Thomas Ness fired a shot on goal that created a juicy rebound. There to clean up the carom was Cal Jennings, who had no problem putting the goal away to put UCF in the lead 3-1. The goal was number 10 on the season for Jennings, who has averaged a goal a game and sits with 21 points on the 2019 campaign.

SMU got the goal back 24 seconds later as the ball ended up just trickling past UCF goalkeeper Yannik Oettl. The score was credited to Garrett McLaughlin and was assisted by Eddie Munjoma and Nick Taylor to trim the Mustang deficit to 3-2.

In the 84th minute, the Knights were called for a questionable foul just inside the SMU box. The referee awarded a penalty kick to the Mustangs. Costa converted on the opportunity, knotting the score at 3-3.

The match made its way to overtime, making it two consecutive matches that the Knights had played in an extra frame. SMU controlled play for the majority of the first overtime, registering two shots to UCF's one. No goals were scored, advancing the match to double overtime.

It was all UCF in the second overtime as they pushed for their seventh straight win. The Knights rifled five shots in the final ten minutes, trying to net a game winner. The golden goal was not found, as the Black and Gold earn their second draw of the season, moving their record to 7-1-2.

The Knights posted a season high 32 shot attempts with 13 of them on target. SMU tallied 26 shot attempts with 10 on goal, meaning Oettl tied his season high save mark with seven on the match. The 26 shot attempts allowed was the highest total against UCF this season.

Entering the match, SMU was undefeated with a mark of 9-0-0 and had only allowed three goals to this point in the season. In Sunday's match, UCF tallied three goals of their own, doubling SMU's goals against total. The three goals that the Knights allowed was a season high.

With the draw, UCF moves to 1-1-1 against top ten teams this season. The all-time series against the Mustangs moves to 4-6-6 as the two teams have been evenly matched on the pitch for some time. The Knights haven't lost when Jennings scores a goal, as the Black and Gold are 6-0-2 when he finds the back of the net. The Knights were 3-0-0 when scoring three or more goals until tonight's result.

UP NEXT
The Knights return home for one match as they host Tulsa on Saturday at 7 p.m. UCF will come into the match with a conference record of 1-0-1 after Sunday's draw to SMU.

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