FAN VOTE: Men's Soccer #MomentMadnessFAN VOTE: Men's Soccer #MomentMadness

FAN VOTE: Men's Soccer #MomentMadness

Opens in a new window UCF Men's Soccer Twitter

The 2019 season had many incredible moments. It saw the UCF men's soccer team reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the first time and repeat as The American regular season champions. Cal Jennings had a season to remember and left his name all over the record books. The Knights played in plenty of overtime matches, often winning in thrilling fashion.

With so many great memories to choose from, we turn to Knight Nation to help us crown the top moment in our #MomentMadness Bracket.

Voting will take place exclusively on the UCF men's soccer Twitter account. Each round will last roughly two days, with the final round covering a three-day span. Rounds will start at 10:30 a.m. on the first day listed and run until 11:59 p.m. ET on the final day of the round. The winner of each round will advance and the process repeats. If a tie occurs, the higher seeded moment will advance. The first round of the tournament will house descriptions and highlights. The top moment will be announced on April 5.

FINAL

2. Back to Back Champs of The American vs. 5. Vivi's OT Goal vs. Cincinnati

SEMIFINALS

5. Vivi's OT Goal vs. Cincinnati (51 percent) defeats 1. NCAA Tournament Victory (49 percent)

2. Back to Back Champs of The American (73 percent) defeats 6. War On I-4 Victory (27 percent)

QUARTERFINALS

1. NCAA Tournament Victory (81 percent) beats 9. OT Win vs. Tulsa (19 percent)

5. Vivi's OT Goal vs. Cincinnati (52 percent) beats 13. Di Lallo Chips VCU Keeper with 4 Seconds Left (48 percent)

6. War On I-4 Victory (51 percent) beats 3. Set Piece at UNC (49 percent)

2. Back to Back Champs of The American (79 percent) beats 10. Cal's 40th Career Goal Beats Stetson in OT (21 percent)

ROUND 1

1. NCAA Tournament Victory (97 percent) beats 16. Sorokin's OT PK Goal Against UTRGV (3 percent)
The top seed of Moment Madness goes to the team's NCAA Tournament second round victory over Missouri State. Although not nationally seeded by the NCAA, the Bears came into the tournament as the No. 12 team in the country according the United Soccer Coaches Poll and the NCAA RPI. The Knights fell behind in the fourth minute of the match but answered in the 28th minute with a Yoni Sorokin header (also a contender in Moment Madness). After a scoreless second half, UCF buried the game winner just 42 seconds into overtime to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history.

Sorokin's penalty kick winner came in the 107th minute of the team's match against UTRGV. It was the team's second victory of the season and came just two days after a 2-2 draw against Penn State. The Knights struck twice in the first four minutes but had the lead slip away in 90th minute on a goal off a corner kick. After getting fouled in the box late in double overtime, Sorokin had no issues cashing in on the PK opportunity.


9. OT Win vs. Tulsa (54 percent) beats 8. Villalobos' Goal Against Temple in AAC Semifinals (46 percent) 
Mauricio Villalobos Vega picked the perfect time to score his first career goal, extending UCF's lead to 3-0 over Temple in the 35th minute in the American Athletic Conference Semifinals. It was a world class score as Villalobos spun a beautiful ball into the top right corner that fooled everyone, including the goalkeeper. The Knights went on to win the match 5-0 and advance to their third straight AAC title match.

In the team's third league match of the season, UCF jumped out to a quick lead, scoring two goals in the first 15 minutes. Things stayed that way until the 66th minute where Tulsa earned a goal back. The Golden Hurricane went on to tie the match in the 86th minute, sending the contest to overtime. Early in the second overtime, a UCF player was given his second yellow card of the match, forcing the Knights to play down a man. Unphased, the Black and Gold continued to push hard and got rewarded. Cal Jennings came up with a steal before Tulsa could get back to midfield. Jennings eventually made his way inside the 18-yard box and passed it to Gino Vivi, who was able to boot it home for the win.


5. Vivi's OT Goal at Cincinnati (92 percent) beats 12. OT Win Against FAU (8 percent)
UCF was playing for sole possession of the American Athletic Conference regular season crown in their final match against Cincinnati. The Knights had already clinched the top seed for the AAC Tournament and at least a share of the league title. After a scoreless first half, four goals filled up the back of the net and sent the game into overtime. Down a man since the 66th minute, the Black and Gold found a way to win, just as they had done all season. In the 99th minute, Vivi gave a ball off to Jennings who then worked a few moves in against his defender and gave the ball back to Vivi in the box. Vivi showed off some fantastic control, deking the goalie and defenders out of his way for the game winner. It was his third golden goal of the season.

The Knights came from behind to beat FAU midway through the 2019 campaign. FAU scored the first goal in just 28 seconds only to see UCF answer in the second minute. The Owls took the lead in the 49th minute and remained in the lead for nearly the rest of the match. Louis Perez ended up tying the game on a penalty kick attempt in the 86th minute. The game was eventually won off two beautiful assists from Jonathan Dean and Perez as Jennings slid into the box as the game winner trickled in.


13. Di Lallo Chips VCU Keeper with 4 Seconds Left (51 percent) beats 4. Jennings' Hat Trick Against Temple in AAC Semifinals (49 percent)
Jennings put on a show in the team's conference semifinal match against Temple. He had goals in the 30th, 68th and 73rd minutes as he tallied his first hat trick of the season and fourth of his career. UCF went on to win with ease over the Owls by a count of 5-0. Watch the Plays of the Game from that night to see all three goals.

Freshman Jeremy Di Lallo netted his first collegiate goal at the buzzer against VCU. In a 1-0 game with under a minute to go, VCU was pushing for the equalizer. With 19 seconds left, Jonas Schmalbach booted the ball out from his own end all the way down the pitch to Jennings. Jennings ran with it, circled back and dumped the ball off to a waiting Di Lallo who was able to lob it over the goalkeeper who was playing aggressively far out of his net.


3. Set Piece Goal at UNC (76 percent) beats 14. Perez's Preseason Goal, First Since Returning from Injury (24 percent)
The Knights were in a big spot in their second match of the season, even at 1-1 halfway through the second half against No. 6 North Carolina. UCF earned a free kick just outside the 18-yard box and drew up a magnificent set piece. They made it look as easy as tic-tac-toe, burying the eventual game-winning goal to upend the country's sixth best team. It was the Black and Gold's first win of the season. Click here to see the goal, it is No. 2 on the team's top 10 goals of the season.

After missing the postseason with an injury, Perez finally got to return to action in the team's second and final preseason match. From beyond the 18-yard box, Perez spun a ball that curved up and over the goalkeeper into the top left corner. It was a gorgeous goal and a sign of things to come for Perez as he went on to collect 19 points at season's end, good enough for second on the team.


6. War On I-4 Victory (65 percent) beats 11. Jennings' Breakaway Goal Against Penn State (35 percent)
The Knights were locked in a thriller for pretty much the entirety of their War On I-4 with South Florida. Just one goal was scored in the match as the freshman Schmalbach buried a chance in the 49th minute off an assist from Vivi. The Bulls surged for ten shot attempts in the second half, but couldn't find an equalizer, giving UCF their second straight win over South Florida.


Tied at 1-1 in the match, Jennings got a golden opportunity against Power 6 opponent Penn State. He was in perfect position to take off and run on an errant pass from a Nittany Lion defender roughly 30 yards out. After Jennings possessed the ball, he was all by himself with just the goalkeeper to beat. There was a defender in Jennings' hip pocket which forced him out wide to the right post, where he ripped a shot and glanced the ball off the top of the goalkeeper's hands and into the top shelf to give the Knights a 2-1 lead. The goal was Jennings' second of the evening.


10. Cal's 40th Career Goal Beats Stetson in OT (54 percent) beats 7. Sorokin's Header off the Bench in NCAA Tournament (46 percent)
Sorokin's header had plenty of theatrics to it. Down 1-0, Sorokin checked into the game in the 28th minute. A big rebound skied into the air shortly after that wound up at the feet of Vivi. He lobbed the ball across to Sorokin who headed the ball home on a hop for his fifth goal of the season. Sorokin had scored just 23 seconds after subbing into the match to give the Knights energy and equalize thigs at 1-1.

After surrendering an equalizer in the 85th minute in their match against Steteson, Jennings once again played hero in overtime. Just 45 seconds into the second overtime, Jennings got a beautiful feed from Dean in toward the box. Jennings somehow spun around and banged it in off the left post with an incredible shot. The goal doubled as Jennings' 40th career goal, making him one of four players in program history to achieve such an accomplishment.


2. Back to Back Champions of The American (83 percent) beats 15. Cal's Goal Through Traffic Against VCU (17 percent)
UCF earned their back to back regular season crown in a tight contest against Memphis, a team who was receiving votes in the polls at the time. The Tigers were right on the tails of the Knights in the conference standings as the top spot was up for grabs. It wasn't until the 85th minute when the Knights found the only goal of the match. Jennings fed the ball to the wing to an awaiting Vivi who looked over his options and fed it backwards to Perez who was roughly 30 yards out. Perez found a lane to Gianluca Arcangeli who did the rest from there. After a couple of dekes with the ball, Arcangeli found the lane and snuck one between the post and the goalkeeper. The win clinched the top seed in the conference tournament as well as at least a share of the conference title. The Knights eventually went on to take sole possession of the crown on the final day of the regular season, giving them back to back outright championships.


Some to this day still have no idea how this goal went in. Jennings fought through multiple VCU defenders as he upgraded his shot in the process. Jennings was able to open the scoring within the 15-minute mark. That set the tone for UCF's first shutout of the season as they beat the Rams 2-0.


FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Men's Soccer on social media on Facebook (/UCFMensSoccer), Twitter (@UCF_MSoccer) and Instagram (@UCF.MSoccer).

GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone. The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news. Click here to download the app now.