UCF Visits Temple on Friday

ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF men's soccer team's road trip continues as it heads to Temple for a Friday night contest at 7 p.m. in Philadelphia.

The Knights have recorded two straight victories, both coming against top 25 opponents. UCF earned a 3-2 victory after a scoreless first half against No. 6 Tulsa to jump to the top of the American Athletic Conference table. Following the home victory, the Black and Gold went on the road and came back from being down a goal at halftime to beat No. 24 SMU. Both goals in the 2-1 win over the Mustangs came from Knights who hadn't scored this season. Caleb Franke netted his first goal as a member of the Black and Gold in the 59th minute, followed by Mauricio Villalobos Vega's match-winner in the 70th minute.

The pair of wins has thrust UCF back into the United Soccer Coaches Poll as the team is receiving votes once again for the first time since Aug. 31. The Knights began the season ranked 13th but lost their opener by a score of 4-0 to FIU, dropping them out of the top 25. After checking in at No. 45 in the first release of the NCAA RPI last week, UCF climbed to No. 38 after the win over the Mustangs.

The Knights have been on a scoring tear over their last seven matches, tallying three or more goals in five of those seven. UCF ranks seventh nationally in goals scored per game, collecting 2.64 per match. The Black and Gold are eighth in the country in points per game, averaging 7.73 and are tied for 16th in assists per game, averaging 2.45 a match. The Knights continue to be one of the highest shooting teams in the country, ranked sixth in shots on goal per game with 7.55 shots on target and 16th in shot attempts per game, averaging 15.82 per match. UCF is ranked first in the conference in all offensive categories.

UCF will square off with Temple for the final time this season and look to keep their recent success against the Owls going. The Knights topped Temple 4-1 earlier this season, increasing their winning streak to five over the cherry and white. Over that five-match span, UCF has outscored the Owls by a count of 16-1. The Black and Gold lead the all-time series against Temple 7-2-2, scoring 23 goals compared to the Owls' seven.

Temple enters the match on a three-game skid, going 2-8-2 overall and 0-6 in conference play. Following a 2-0 win over Princeton, the Owls lost 3-0 to South Florida, 2-1 to No. 8 Tulsa and 2-1 to Penn. They're 2-4 at home this season while still winless on the road, going 0-4-2. Eight different Owls have scored a goal this season with Mike Eijgendaal and Nigel Griffith being the only two to score multiple, tallying two each and tied for the team lead in points with five.

Temple has used three different goalkeepers this season, the most recent being Goodwill Agbaadem, who got the start over in the team's last two matches. The 5 feet 11 inches tall senior has allowed a total of four goals, two in each match, thus far and has made five saves, tallying a .556 save percentage. He's faced 22 total shots and is bound to see more against UCF's offense that averages 15.82 shot attempts per match.

It's that time of the season where The American table starts to shake out and pieces begin to fall into place. UCF could lock themselves into the conference's postseason picture and will clinch a spot in the tournament with a win or a draw on Saturday as well and a South Florida loss to SMU. Additionally, UCF, Memphis and SMU victories on Saturday will eliminate Temple from postseason contention. Including this week, there are four conference matches left on each team's slate.

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