Two goals within a nine-minute span in the first half and an insurance tally in the second pushed the UCF Knights Men’s Soccer team past the FAU Owls 3-2 and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
In a matchup of two conference champions from the Sunshine State (UCF in the Sun Belt and FAU in The American), the Knights scored three goals or more for the seventh time in their last eleven matches — all wins — and advance to play Georgetown in the Second Round in Washington, D.C., Sunday at 5
p.m.
Quick Start
Before a record crowd of 1,358 fans, UCF jumped out 2-0 in the first half, starting with a gorgeous give-and-go between Malick Thiaw and Clarence Awoudor, who put it away for a 1-0 lead:
A mere nine minutes later, Joey Mueller, who had only one goal on the season coming in, found some space and unleashed a missile into the back of the net for a 2-0 UCF lead:
That lead stood up until the 56th minute, when FAU’s Andreas Raisanen got one back.
Three minutes later, UCF extended the lead back to two on leading scorer Lilian Ricol’s 13th goal of the season, with the assist from the previous two goal scorers:
Tight Finish
It wasn’t without some drama. FAU cut the lead again after Ricol’s insurance goal off the foot of Mamadou Diarra in the 80th minute.
UCF then had to withstand a furious last-minute charge from the Owls, including three final shots in the final three minutes. But Juanvi Munoz and the UCF back line stood up to the challenge, and the Knights took the victory.
Munoz finished with two saves.
Survive and Advance
UCF is now 11-6-3 and 9-1-2 since the start of October. They now travel to Washington. D.C., to face the Georgetown Hoyas, who are the #7 seed in the NCAA Tournament and won the Big East title for the second straight season.
The game is set to start at 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 23rd. The match will be televised on ESPN+.
