ORLANDO – Matching up against its third opponent this season to earn a spot in the United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll through two weeks, the UCF men’s soccer team fell in a hard-fought contest with the No. 23 UNC Greensboro Spartans, 2-1, at the UCF Soccer Complex Sunday night.
Despite the losing result, the Black and Gold hung with the Spartans throughout the contest, limiting the squad to just eight total shot attempts, the fewest surrendered to any of the Knights’ ranked foes thus far.
“It came down to the final third for us,” head coach Scott Calabrese said. “We arrived there often enough to where we should have been more dangerous. When we get into those areas, we have to have better ideas, be more dangerous, precise and clinical in those moments.”
Senior goalkeeper Juanvi Muñoz made a trio of saves around a first-half Spartans score, while UCF continued to press at UNC Greensboro’s defensive efforts until senior transfer forward Claudel N’goubou drew a foul within the box in the 87th minute.
After a brief review, officials granted the Knights a penalty kick, which was taken by fellow senior midfielder Clarence Awoudor.
The Saint-Lo, France native cashed in, halving the visitors’ lead after the Spartans added one more score in the 49th minute.
Awoudor’s late tally marked his third career penalty kick score, all within the last two seasons, and boosted his point total to four in two matches this week after registering a pair of assists in UCF’s 4-0 victory over UTRGV Wednesday.
“Credit to UNC Greensboro,” Calabrese continued. “If we broke their pressure, they were in a low block, they had a lot of numbers in and around the top of their box, and we had a hard time creating clear-cut chances.”
UP NEXT
The Knights look to jump back into the win column in a road match with in-state rival South Florida Thursday evening. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from Corbett Field in Tampa and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
TICKETS
UCF men’s soccer season and single-game tickets are on sale now. Please visit ucfknights.com/tickets for more information or call the ticket office at (407) 823-1000.
ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.