| Temple vs. UCF March 20, 6 p.m. WATCH (ESPN+) | LIVE STATS |
ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF men's soccer team looks to keep its winning ways going as they return home to face Temple Saturday night at 6 p.m.
The Knights have won two straight matches and look to complete the season sweep of the Owls this weekend. The Black and Gold got the best of Temple the last time around, beating them 1-0 on a chilly afternoon in Philadelphia to collect their first win of the 2020-21 campaign.
UCF's triumph over No. 9 SMU makes two consecutive seasons that the Knights have beaten a top 10 team. Last year, the Black and Gold went into Chapel Hill and came away with an upset of No. 6 North Carolina.
The shutout victory was the second of the season and the 14th of Yannik Oettl's outstanding career. He continues to leave his mark on the NCAA and in UCF's record books. He is now tied for fifth on the Knights' career shutout list and needs one more to tie fourth place. He sits just eight saves behind Sean Johnson who is in sixth place on UCF's career saves list. Oettl's career goals against average currently sits at 1.06 which is good enough for third best all-time. He sits only behind Winston Dubose and Dan Cordia who are tied for first place with a career goals allowed average of 0.91. Oettl is currently first in the American Athletic Conference and top 50 in shutouts, save percentage and goals allowed average this season. He is 24th in the country in save percentage with a .857 mark, 49th in the nation in saves with 18 and 29th in shutouts with two clean sheets thus far.
Oettl, along with Hattabiou Barry, were named Players of the Week in The American. Oettl earned Goalkeeper of the Week honors while Barry was named the Offensive Player of the week thanks to his 11th minute goal in the win over SMU.
Temple visits Orlando fresh off a 0-0 draw against Tulsa. Backup goalkeeper Eoin Gawronski has been solid in net since taking over at halftime against South Florida three weeks ago and has not allowed a goal to this point. Mike Eijgendaal leads the team in points, tallying two goals and two assists.
The Owl's loss to the Knights started a three-match skid for Temple. They rebounded with a 2-0 home victory over SMU but couldn't find a game winner in their draw with Tulsa.
The first 15 minutes of each match have continued to be a critical point in each match. UCF is 3-0-0 when they hold their opponent scoreless in the first 15 minutes of the match. When surrendering a goal in that time frame, they're 0-3-0. The Knights consistently scored in the first 15 minutes in 2019, going 7-0-1. They are 1-0-0 when they strike within the first 15 and are 3-0-0 when leading at halftime.
UCF continues to create plenty of chances to score. They're 33rd in the country on shots on goal per match with a 6.17 mark and 39th in the nation in shot attempts per match, averaging 13.17. The Knights are performing at a high level around the rest of the pitch as well, tallying just 8.33 fouls per match, the fifth fewest in the country.
The Black and Gold received votes in the most recent edition of the United Soccer Coaches Poll. SMU fell to No. 16 following their defeat while another American team, South Florida, also received votes.
TICKETING, MASKING & CAPACITY
The UCF Soccer Complex will allow 25 percent of total fan capacity at home matches this season. No ticket is required for entry as matches are free to attend. Masks are required and must be worn while in the venue and on campus. For more information, please visit the 2020-21 UCF Olympic Sports A-Z Guide which is linked to this preview.
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