| UNF vs. #13 UCF Sunday, August 29, 6 p.m. WATCH | LIVE STATS | TICKETS |
ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 13 UCF men's soccer team is set to wrap up its opening weekend homestand as they host North Florida on Sunday at 6 p.m.
The Knights are looking to bounce back from their season opening loss to FIU on Thursday. They earned 10 corners and fired 13 total shots but were unable to find the back of the net as they fell to the Panthers 4-0.
The loss is just the fourth time in head coach Scott Calabrese's tenure that the Knights have fallen at home during the regular season. UCF is a spectacular 26-6-6 since Calabrese's arrival, good enough for a .763 win percentage. The three other rare home losses in the regular season include a 1-0 overtime loss to UC Irvine early in the 2018 campaign before losing twice at home early in the 2020-21 season to Tulsa and South Florida.
After falling to nationally seeded No. 2 Pittsburgh by a score of 4-0 in last season's NCAA Tournament and opening the 2021 campaign with a 4-0 loss to FIU, the Knights are in a spot they haven't been in since 2000, which is the last time they surrendered four or more goals in consecutive matches. UCF opened the 2000 campaign with a 4-2 loss to IUPUI at home before falling overtime to Charleston Southern 5-4. The Knights then went on the road to Campbell and were topped 4-1.
Despite the shutout to open the season, the Knights have plenty of offensive firepower. Among those weapons is Gino Vivi, who was named to The American's Preseason All-Conference Team as well as the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list. Vivi returns as the leading scorer for the Knights after netting five goals in each of his last two campaigns. Lucca Dourado, who scored three of UCF's four final goals during the 2020-21 season also returns. Vivi and Dourado combined to score eight of the Knights' final nine goals to finish out last season and look to light a spark for the team on Sunday.
The Ospreys kicked the season off with a 3-1 victory over Georgia State on Thursday. UNF jumped in front early as Jovoney Brown netted the opening goal during the third minute before Joaquin Acuna punched in a penalty kick for a 2-0 halftime lead. Georgia State retaliated with a goal in the 70th minute but surrendered another penalty kick in the 83rd minute that was cashed in by Mirza Nevoric.
North Florida finished last season with a mark of 4-3-3, going 2-2-2 in conference play. The Knights and Ospreys haven't faced each other in the regular season while Scott Calabrese has been head coach. UCF and UNF squared off in the spring of 2020 and played to a 0-0 draw. The last regular season meeting came back in 2016, UCF's most recent losing season, when the Knights were topped by the Ospreys 2-1. The Black and Gold lead the all-time series 7-5 but are looking to snap a four-match losing streak against North Florida.
Sunday's men's soccer match is part of a soccer double-header at the UCF Soccer Complex. The No. 19 UCF women's soccer team will face LSU at 1 p.m. on Sunday prior to the men's match against UNF at 6 p.m.
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