Oct. 16, 2010

No. 22 UCF Men’s Soccer Plays to 1-1 Draw at No. 20 South Carolina
Knights unbeaten in last seven games, earn C-USA point.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (UCFAthletics.com) – For the second-consecutive game, the No. 22 UCF men’s soccer team overcame an early deficit on the road to a Conference USA opponent to earn a point with a tie. Sophomore Ben Hunt (Auckland, New Zealand) scored his third goal of the season in the opening minutes of the second half to help the Knights (8-2-2, 4-0-2 C-USA) play to a 1-1 draw with No. 20 South Carolina (7-3- 2, 2-1-1 C-USA) Saturday night at Stone Stadium in Columbia.

“Playing back-to-back games on the road in this conference is never going to be easy,” head coach Bryan Cunningham said. “South Carolina was a formidable opponent tonight.

“The players came back from down a goal again, fighting to get that goal to equalize. I am proud of our guys, but credit South Carolina for continuing to battle and make it a tough game. A tie is a fair result for both teams tonight,” Cunningham added.

With the tie, UCF improves its unbeaten streak to seven games (5-0-2), and remains unbeaten in C-USA play with a conference-leading 14 points.

After falling behind in the 15th minute on a goal from South Carolina's Bradlee Baladez, the Knights trailed early in the match for the second game in a row after Kentucky scored in the first three minutes in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw.

Hunt’s goal came in the 51st minute to tie the game. Senior captain Yaron Bacher (Atlanta, Ga.) was credited with an assist after his shot from 20 yards out was stopped by the Gamecocks’ keeper. The second-year defender jumped up into the play and put in the rebound into the net from three yards out for the equalizer.

Despite no goals being scored the rest of the game by either side, there was no lack of scoring chances. However, both goalkeepers were up to the task as the Gamecocks’ Jimmy Maurer and the Knights’ Shawn Doyle (Ft. Myers, Fla.) kept their opponents from scoring the winner in the final minutes of the match.

In the second overtime, South Carolina made a push to try and score the goal that would hand UCF its first conference loss of the season. With a little more than five and a half minutes showing on the scoreboard, the Gamecocks had several opportunities, but none managed to find their way on goal as the Knights’ defense cleared every ball from danger.

“The players have an ability to handle the pressure in these games,” Cunningham said. They had us pinned in our zone for a few minutes in the second overtime, but the team did a great job of preventing any shots from making their way on goal when they should have.”

For the game, UCF managed 21 shots to South Carolina’s 17. The Knights also held a 6-5 advantage in corner kicks, but the Gamecocks had three in the second extra session, failing to convert on any.

UCF will wrap up its three-game road trip with a non-conference tilt at Virginia Tech on Tuesday, Oct. 19. The Knights and Hookies are scheduled to kick-off at 4 p.m.