RALEIGH, N.C. – Despite a heavy second half surge, the UCF men's soccer team was edged by NC State in the finale of the George Tarantini Classic on Monday night, falling by a score of 2-1.
"The second half showed the level we are capable of playing at," said head coach Scott Calabrese. "If we can play 90 minutes at that level, the results will come."
UCF had the early edge, earning the first two shot attempts of the match, but NC State surged shortly after. The Wolfpack earned their first goal of the match in the 16th minute as Alex Hernandez worked his way toward the right side of the goal and curled a ball in front for Yaniv Bazini, who was able to head it home for the 1-0 lead.
NC State doubled its lead in the dying moments of the first half as Ivy Brisma ripped a ball off the crossbar which ricocheted back in front, where it was cleaned up by Jared Miller. At the half, the Wolfpack led in shot attempts by a count of 8-2 but saw the Knights leading in corners 4-2.
The Black and Gold had all the momentum in the second half as it felt as if they were on the attack for nearly all of the final 45. Gino Vivi was finally able to cash in on an opportunity in the 74th minute as he received a pass from Nick Taylor across the box and fired an absolute golazo into the top left corner from the top of the 18.
AN ABSOLUTE GOLAZO! What a snipe from Gino! ? #ChargeOn pic.twitter.com/nSRJUnWvOV
— UCF Men's Soccer (@UCF_MSoccer) September 7, 2021
Vivi, along with Lucca Dourado, have tallied 13 of UCF's last 16 goals dating back to last season. The tandem finished the 2020-21 campaign scoring eight of the last nine goals for the Black and Gold before netting a combined five goals so far in the fall.
The Knights continued to pressure the Wolfpack in the final minutes but were unable to find the equalizer. In the second half alone, UCF outshot the Wolfpack 9-3 and had a 7-0 advantage in corners. The 11 total Knight corners registers as a season high, but none of the opportunities led to goals. NC State goalkeeper Leon Krapf had to make three second half saves and four total to give his team the victory.
Both UCF and NC State had received votes in the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches poll. A fresh release of the poll is expected to drop tomorrow afternoon.
The Black and Gold are now 1-3 on the season, a spot they found themselves in during the 2020-21 season. Despite the slow start to that campaign, the Knights were able to turn around their campaign and win six straight on their way to a third straight regular season conference title. The success continued through the conference tournament where UCF hoisted its first tournament title as part of The American and eventually made its way to a second consecutive NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance.
NC State pulls out to a 2-0-0 edge all-time against UCF. The Knights fell 2-0 in 1979 to the Wolfpack in their only other meeting.
UP NEXT
The Knights will look to snap their two-match skid as they'll host FGCU on Saturday, Sep. 11 at 1 p.m. It will be a football double header, as the UCF football team will take the field at 6:30 p.m. against Bethune-Cookman later that evening. The men's soccer match will be free to attend on Saturday, rather than the normal price of admission.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Men's Soccer on social media on Facebook (/UCFMensSoccer), Twitter (@UCF_MSoccer) and Instagram (@UCF.MSoccer).
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone. The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news. Click here to download the app now.