| American Athletic Conference Final Tulsa at #20 UCF Saturday, April 17, 7 p.m. ET WATCH LIVE ON ESPN+ | LIVE STATS |
ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 20 UCF men's soccer team is set for the American Athletic Conference Championship match as they'll host Tulsa on Saturday night at 7 p.m.
The top-seeded Knights will be taking a part in their fourth consecutive conference tournament title match. The Black and Gold advanced to the final after a thrilling victory over their rivals of SMU in a penalty kick shootout. The opening goal of their semifinal match didn't occur until the 74th minute as the Knights got on the board first. The Mustangs were awarded a penalty kick in the 78th minute and cashed in on the opportunity. Yannik Oettl made 9 saves over 110 minutes, sending the match to penalty kicks. Two SMU players missed high over the bar, setting up Gino Vivi in the fifth PK spot to win it for UCF.
Oettl climbed into the top 10 nationally in some important goalkeeping categories after his performance on Thursday. He's fourth in the country with a save percentage of .904, seventh in saves per match, averaging 5.22 and eighth in total saves with 47. His miniscule goals allowed average of .535 is good enough for 11th in the country.
Vivi and Lucca Dourado are responsible for five of the Knights' last six goals, with Vivi scoring three of the last five. Vivi jumped into the team lead for points with 11 on the campaign after collecting the helper on Dourado's goal in the 74th minute of UCF's semifinal.
The record book shows that the Knights are unbeaten in 31 of their 36 home matches under head coach Scott Calabrese during his tenure. UCF has been to three straight conference finals, including two in a row on their home pitch. Each time, the Knights have been edged by a goal or less to SMU.
A victory on Saturday night secures The American's automatic bid and a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the Knights. It would be the first time since 2002-04 that UCF has made three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament and would be their 8th overall in program history.
Second-seeded Tulsa advanced to the championship match in a similar fashion as UCF. They also had a 1-1 tie go to penalties, finding both goals in the second half. Goalkeeper Lucas Cline made a pair of fantastic saves in the shootout, helping his team advance to their first final since 2016. This will also be the Golden Hurricane's fourth appearance in The American's championship match. Alex Meinhard has been the primary weapon on offense for Tulsa as he has logged 15 points on 33 shots and holds five game winners this season. The freshman was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
Tulsa took advantage of UCF's slow start to the 2020-21 season, beating the Knights twice in a span of three weeks. The Black and Gold haven't lost since the last time they faced the Golden Hurricane back on Feb. 27. The Knights turned it around after that match as UCF ripped off six straight victories to close out the regular season, setting them atop The American table with 21 points and a record of 7-3 after a 1-3 start. The Knights outscored their opponents 14-2 to close out the regular season.
The trend of UCF and SMU meeting in the conference final was finally broken with Thursday's result. The Knights will meet Tulsa in the conference tournament for just the second time in its history, with the only result being a 2-2 draw that went the way of Tulsa in PKs in the 2015 quarterfinals.
The Golden Hurricane are no strangers to penalty kicks. All three of Tulsa's American championships were via PK victories, beating USF in 2014 and 2016 and UConn in 2015. They've played in 11 contests that have gone to a shootout and come out on top nine times.
The first 15 minutes of the match continues to be a factor in determining the direction of the match. The Knights are 6-0-1 when they hold their opponent scoreless in the first phase of the game. They're also 6-0-1 when scoring the first goal and have not lost a match in which they scored two goals or more.
TICKETING, MASKING & CAPACITY
All matches for the American Athletic Conference Championship are free to attend; no ticket is required. The UCF Soccer Complex and UCF Athletics recently raised their total fan capacity to 50 percent for each match. 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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