MIAMI, Fla. – The UCF men's soccer team snapped its three-match losing skid with a 3-1 victory over FIU on Sunday night as Lucca Dourado twice, extending his goal streak to seven matches.
"I am so proud of the boys tonight," said head coach Scott Calabrese. "We worked and competed at an incredible level. Now we need to put everything into recovering and preparing for the next one."
The match started in heavy favor of FIU, with the Panthers holding possession for nearly all of the first 10 minutes. FIU tallied the first five shots of the match before the Knights were able to register their first in the 16th minute.
UCF earned its third penalty kick chance of the season in the 26th minute as the FIU goalkeeper, Matt Levy, took out a Knight with a late slide in the box. Dourado stepped up to the spot and converted on the chance, scoring in his seventh consecutive contest and bringing his season total to nine goals.
With the goal, Dourado has now passed UCF legend Cal Jennings for most consecutive matches with a goal during the Calabrese era. Jennings had tallied scores in six straight matches during the 2019 season, his final year before getting selected in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft.
Dourado remains second nationally in consecutive games with a goal as LIU's Emil Jaaskelainen was also in action on Sunday night and netted a goal in the 81st minute to extend his streak to eight.
FIU leveled the match at 1-1 in the 35th minute, using a Philip Hilderbrandt strike from just outside the 18-yard box. The ball had been headed and batted around in the box before squeaking out to Hilderbrandt who tucked it just inside the right post.
FIU's keeper held onto the ball ready to launch a goal kick as time ticked down in the first half. The kick sailed long to the other end of the pitch, where the Knights were able to take away and start the counter. Mauricio Villalobos Vega led the way, sprinting down the pitch from beyond the midway line, making a move, and coming in unmarked down the left side. He crossed a ball into the box that was met by an FIU defender, but right to Kevin Andrews on the left post who pushed it in with under a minute left in the second half. The goal was the first of Andrews' career, and it put the Knights on top 2-1.
The Panthers heavily outshot the Black and Gold in half number one to the tune of a 15-3 mark. Juanvi Muñoz was up to the task though, turning aside three of the four shots on frame in the half. All two of the Knights' shots on target found the back of the net through the first 45.
The second half saw FIU attempt the first four shots in the first seven minutes of play. Despite the Panthers having the momentum in the early phases of the second stanza, the Knights earned their second penalty shot of the match in the 65th minute. Dourado was unable to net the chance, keeping the score at 2-1.
The Knights clamped down after that, allowing just one shot attempt for the next 25 minutes while mounting some impressive chances themselves. The Black and Gold had four shot attempts in a five minute-span as they were searching for the put away goal.
The Knights' momentum carried them to a third goal as a chance unfolded just a few minutes after a flurry of shots just moments before. FIU attempted to cross a ball into the box that was deflected away and right onto the foot of Dourado, who passed the ball up to begin the break. The ball found Clement Gouin to the right of the goal, who was double teamed by a pair of defenders and miraculously worked his way out of the jam. He crossed it back toward the goal mouth where it was briefly deflected by an FIU defender in the direction of Dourado, who pounded it home for his second goal of the match and his 10th of the season.
Now with 27 career goals, Dourado ties Remi Hariz for ninth on UCF's all-time goals scored list. It was the third time this season that Dourado has earned a brace. The pair of scores leaves Dourado one goal behind the nation's leading scorer in Jaakelainen.
At the final horn, UCF's Muñoz had made five saves, the fifth time he has made five or more saves in nine matches this year. The Knights were outshot 23-11, but only edged 6-5 in shots on frame. The 23 shot attempts are the most by an opposing team since Apr. 15, 2021 when the Knights were outshot by SMU 26-11 in the American Athletic Conference semifinals.
The Knights redeemed themselves by beating FIU on its home pitch after suffering the same fate with a 4-0 loss to the Panthers in Orlando to open the 2021 campaign. FIU had won four of the last five matchups, but Sunday's result means that the Black and Gold have taken two of the last three.
Sunday's victory put a stop to UCF's three-match losing streak, meaning that the Knights still have not lost four or more matches under coach Calabrese. UCF also snapped its four-match losing streak in October and are now 19-5-3 all-time during the month in the Calabrese era.
UP NEXT
The Knights will head to Birmingham, Ala. to face UAB on Friday for an 8 p.m. kick. UCF hasn't played the Blazers since 2012 and will face them for the first time as American foes.
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