Men's Soccer Set to Begin Preseason

ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF men's soccer team is set to open its 2021 preseason slate as they host Stetson in an exhibition tomorrow at 6 p.m. at the UCF Soccer Complex.

UCF looks to continue their winning ways heading into the 2021 fall season. The Black and Gold had an incredible run in the spring in which they turned a 1-3 start into a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In a 10-match, conference only slate, the Knights ripped off six straight victories to secure their third straight American Athletic Conference regular season title as well as the top seed in the conference tournament. UCF made history by beating SMU in penalties in the semifinals and then Tulsa in the final, securing their first conference tournament title as part of The American and locking in their automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Stetson finished their 2020-21 season with a 1-5-2 record, primarily facing ASUN competition. The Hatters didn't tally a victory until their final match of the season at FGCU before falling to Jacksonville in the ASUN tournament. Stetson posted an 8-10-2 mark and reached the semifinals in their last full season.

The Knights hold a large edge in the all-time series with the Hatters, winning 34 of 47 meetings, good enough for a 34-10-3 mark. The two sides faced each other in October of 2019 in what was a turbulent affair. Stetson opened the scoring in the 28th minute and led the match at the half. The Knights responded out of the break tallying a score in the 52nd minute to pull back even. UCF benefited from a Stetson own goal in the 80th minute to jump in front 2-1 but gave the lead up in the 85th minute as the Hatters equalized. It took a Cal Jennings goal in double overtime to prevail over Stetson which moved the Knights to 11-1-2 at that point during their campaign.

Admission to Saturday night's match is free.

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