Men's Soccer Falls in Preseason Tilt vs. UCF

Saturday, August 18

Boca Raton, Fla.

6 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

UCF (Exhibition)

2017 FAU Men's Soccer vs New Jersey Tech Ferdinand Solber

Photo by: JC Ridley

8/18/2018 9:27:00 PM | Men's Soccer

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University men's soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to UCF on Saturday night at FAU Soccer Stadium in the final exhibition of the season for the Owls.

How It Was Decided
Saturday's match stayed scoreless for the first 30 minutes, despite a good look for the Owls early. Felipe Cardona took a corner kick, placing the ball in the right corner of the box for a shot from Alberto Escobedo. Escobedo sent it towards the goal, but the UCF goalkeeper was there to make the save.

The Knights scored the game-deciding goal at the 30:26 mark, when Yoni Sorokin blasted a shot from 30 yards out that bounced off the right post across the goal line.

FAU pressured in the second half, trying to even the score. The Owls outshot UCF, 5-4, in the second frame but we were unable to find the back of the net.

Of Note
Standard to an exhibition match, all three FAU goalkeepers saw minutes in goal. Luis Aranzazu made three saves and Hagay Jalon and Daniel Ragoo each had one.

Arturo Ernand led the Owls on the offensive front with two shots on the night, with one being on goal. Ferdinand Solberg and Alberto Escobedo also each put a shot on goal.

FAU brought in 21 new players for the 2018-19 season and 14 of those newcomers saw the field on Saturday.

UCF was selected as the American Athletic Conference favorites for 2018. The Knights return the core of last season's team that claimed second in the American.

Up Next
FAU will travel to Utah to open the season with a pair of matches. The Owls will face UNLV on August 24 and play against the home team, Utah Valley, on August 27.

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