ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 14 UCF men's soccer team fell at home against South Florida by a score of 2-1 on Saturday night.
The Bulls found their way onto the scoresheet first, earning a free kick from about 30 yards away. The ball was curled into the box, where it was popped high into the air by a South Florida player and then gathered by Oscar Resano off to the side of the net. Resano was able to settle the ball down, box out a Knight defender, and bury the chance at the 12-minute mark.
UCF nearly evened the match at a goal a side in the 15th minute. Lucca Dourado unleased a shot on net that was turned aside. Mauricio Villalobos Vega collected the rebound and tried to curl it into the top right side of the net, but the save was made by goalkeeper Kazuna Takase. The rebound trickled out to Gino Vivi, who wound and fired one off the near-side post and out of harm's way.
With four minutes left on the clock in the first half, Andrew Lizyness had a great look as he attempted to bury a one-timer that found his foot off a defender and again saw Takase make an incredible save.
At the end of the first half, the Knights led 11-1 in shot attempts and led in shots on target 7-1. UCF owned 63 percent of possession through the first 45 minutes.
Both teams had chances right out of halftime as each side tallied two corner kicks in the first 10 minutes. The last of those four corners led to a goal for South Florida as Victor Claudel launched a corner in which was headed home by Henrique Gallina in the 55th minute.
UCF finally cracked the zero on the scoreboard with a goal in the 82nd minute. Dourado performed a nice give-and-go to Vivi as Dourado was freed up to range down the wing. He found a lane and sent the cross in to Jonas Schmalbach who just missed the opportunity. The ball ended up being kicked in by a Bull defender as they surrendered the own goal to cut the deficit to 2-1.
The Knights fired four more shot attempts following the goal but couldn't find the equalizer. UCF led every offensive statistic at the end of the match, outshooting the Bulls 20-11 with a 12-8 edge in shots on target. The Black and Gold had a huge advantage in corner kicks, leading the category 12-3.
South Florida's goalkeeper, Takase, made 12 saves in the match, which is the fourth most ever made at the UCF Soccer Complex. Yannik Oettl had an impressive night himself, earning half a dozen saves. His career high of eight saves in a match from 2019 against Memphis still stands.
The last six meetings between these two teams have all been one goal decisions. UCF had won the previous matches by a score of 2-1 and 1-0, both in Tampa. The Knights will look to avenge this loss in their second match against the Bulls when they pay them a visit on Mar. 27.
South Florida earned three points towards the all-sport War On I-4 tally. UCF still holds a commanding 18-6 lead and have never lost the all-sport series to the Bulls.
UP NEXT
The Knights look to rebound against the team that handed them their first loss of the season as they'll travel to Tulsa for an 8 p.m. ET kick on Feb. 27.
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.
