Men's Soccer Upsets No. 13 Charlotte 2-1Men's Soccer Upsets No. 13 Charlotte 2-1

Men's Soccer Upsets No. 13 Charlotte 2-1

ORLANDO - The UCF men's soccer team upset No. 13 Charlotte by a score of 2-1 on Friday night at the UCF Soccer Complex. After a late answer from the 49ers, the Knights struck back within two minutes to regain the lead and never looked back.
 
"We were ready to fight," said head coach Scott Calabrese. "We were ready to compete, we were ready to go toe-to-toe with a really competitive side in Charlotte. We absolutely had to be at our best at competing. It shows what we're capable of when we show up and absolutely put in a shift."
 
The game got off to a quick start, with Gino Vivi scoring his 19th career goal in the 12th minute. Lucas Mauro crossed the ball from the right-side of the box, where Lucca Dourado attempted a header but soared over his head to Vivi, who was able to shoot it high into the back of the net of a bounce. The goal gave Mauro his first assist on the season while Vivi tallied his second goal of the campaign. The Knights have scored four goals this season before the 15 minute mark hits and have won each of those matches.

The rest of the first half was relatively quiet, with UCF notching three shots on goal on six total attempts and Charlotte getting one shot on goal in five attempts.
 
The second half started off much quicker for both sides, with two shot attempts for the Knights in the first five minutes. The 49ers matched UCF's quick start, notching three shot attempts in the first five minutes.
 
Charlotte tied the match in the 71st minute with a shot that came from just inside the 18-yard box. The goal scored by Brad Dildy just made it past Juanvi Muñoz to even the match at one goal apiece. Kameron Lacey's assist was his fourth of the season and Dildy's goal was his first of the 2022 campaign.
 
Mere moments later, the Knights scored a masterpiece of a goal to take the lead. Less than two minutes after Charlotte's goal, Dourado scored his 28th career goal and 11th of the season on an incredible volley. Vivi passed the ball from far outside the 18-yard box to Mauro, who was able to save it from going out of bounds and head it right inside the box to Dourado. The ball landed perfectly on Dourado's right foot and he rifled it past Thomas Walls to put the Knights ahead once again.

This was a record-breaking match for both Dourado and Vivi, moving up on UCF's all-time total points list. With his goal tonight, Dourado moved up to a tie of eighth place in career goals, tied with Nik Robson at 28. Vivi's three-point night moved him into a tie of fifth place for career assists with 23 and a tie of 10th place in all-time points with 61.
 
Muñoz and the back line had a phenomenal night, keeping the nation's top scoring team to just one goal. Charlotte entered the night averaging 3.36 goals per match. UCF held them to just 10 shot attempts with only three of those being on target. The Knights were able to hold the nation's top scoring team to just one goal.
 
UCF's win on Friday night was the first over Charlotte in its all-time series. The Knights doubled their all-time goal total against Charlotte, scoring two goals on the night compared to just two over the team's seven prior meetings.
 
At the moment, the Knights hold a spot in the American Athletic Conference's playoff picture, sitting at the No. 5 seed with nine points in league play. South Florida and Charlotte both lie beneath the Black and Gold but have a match in hand that will be played on Tuesday. SMU defeated the Bulls on Friday night, officially ending UCF's chances at hosting this year's conference tournament.

UP NEXT
The Knights will hit the road and face No. 22 Tulsa on Oct. 28. UCF will return home for its final home match of the season, hosting South Florida for the War On I-4 on Nov. 2.

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