ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF men's soccer team scored half a dozen goals on Saturday, defeating FGCU 6-2 in its final non-conference matchup of the regular season. Alessandro Campoy and Lucca Dourado were all over the statsheet, scoring four and two goals respectively.
"Having the right mentality and being ready to work was important today," said head coach Scott Calabrese. "Obviously scoring six goals is a big day for any soccer competition. It was really good to see us get on the board early and to keep going. When we're firing on all cylinders, we can be really dangerous going forward."
The match started off with a bang as Campoy was in the right place at the right time, banging home a juicy rebound from a Nick Taylor shot. The goal was Campoy's first as Knight and 18th of his career. The fifth year FIU transfer was far from finished in the match.
Goal number two of the afternoon saw Campoy and Taylor land on the scoresheet again as Taylor whipped a corner into the box where Campoy was able to get his head to it and convert on the chance in the 27th minute.
FGCU pulled a goal back in the 31st minute as UCF goalkeeper Matt Douglass charged for a ball in front on an Eagle breakaway but wasn't able to come up with the ball. O'Vonte Mullings was able to sneak around Douglass for the tap in to make the score 3-1.
The Knights wasted little time getting that goal back as Dourado answered with a goal five minutes later. Kevin Andrews spun a beautiful ball into the box, practically putting it on a tee for Dourado to drive into the back of the net. The assist was Andrews' first collegiate point.
Campoy was able to complete his hat trick in the 43rd minute thanks to some incredible passing and a wonderful finish. With the ball on the right side, Andrews gave the ball to Gino Vivi, who in turn sent it back to Andrews further down the wing. Andrews wound up and fired toward the box where a streaking Campoy was able to cash in on the chance. Campoy becomes the first Knight to score a hat trick since Cal Jennings did it in the American Athletic Conference tournament semifinals on Nov. 13, 2019. It's the 40th hat trick in school history and the 19th Knight to tally one. Campoy has scored a hat trick before, tallying three goals against FAU on Sep. 14, 2019 as a member of FIU.
At the half, the Knights led FGCU in shot attempts 12-4 and had a whopping 10-1 edge in shots on target. A 4-1 lead in corners played a part as the second goal of the match came via a corner.
Dourado got the Black and Gold back on the scoreboard in a hurry as he forced a turnover near the top of the 18-yard box, took a few steps towards the net and fired one past the keeper for his second goal of the match. He sits at five goals on the season and is just one shy of tying UTRGV's Reshaun Walkes for the top spot on the NCAA goals scored leaderboard. Saturday was the second multi-goal match of the sophomore striker's career, with the other one coming earlier this season against North Florida.
The 60th minute sent Campoy even deeper into the record books as he added his fourth goal of the match via an assist from Mauricio Villalobos Vega at the top of the box. Campoy joins elite company, as Heikki Ritvanen (1996-99), Rony Francois (1980-83) and Randy DeShield (1976-79) are the only other Knights to score four or more goals in a match. Campoy is the first UCF player since the turn of the century to score four goals, with the last to score more than four coming from Ritvanen, who scored five goals in a single game twice in 1998. Each of the three former UCF stars has a spot on UCF's number of goals in a season leaderboard with two of them, Ritvanen and Francois, being named as All-Americans during their careers. Campoy is the only player in the NCAA to score four goals in a match this season.
"I know Campoy from years ago when I recruited him at FIU," said Calabrese. "To have him come here is great. I've always envisioned coaching him and its not a surprise to me that he's scoring goals. When he gets into the box, he can either create goals for other or score goals. I think he is going through this process where other players are learning how to play with him and he's learning to play with our guys and within our system."
The Eagles scored the final goal of the match as Timon Zech cashed in on a chance in front in the 77th minute. UCF finished the match with an 18-7 advantage in shot attempts, one shy of tying their season high which was achieved against North Florida. The Knights did set a season high in shots on goal with a whopping 13 compared to FGCU's two.
The victory moves the Knights to 2-3 this season as they finish non-conference play on a high note. UCF was on a two-match skid as they dropped a pair of 2-1 division against No. 10 Virginia Tech and NC State in Raleigh, N.C. over Labor Day weekend.
"I think we are still continuing to get better," said Calabrese. "When we move the ball quickly and we play within our system and make these correct choices, we're really difficult to play against."
UP NEXT
The Black and Gold will begin American Athletic Conference play as they visit Memphis on Sep. 18 at 9 p.m. ET.
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