CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | BOX SCORE
 
ORLANDO – UCF senior Cal Jennings registered his first hat trick of the season in the Knights’ first postseason game, leading to a 5-0 win for the top-seeded Knights over No. 5 seed Temple in the American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship semifinals.
 
The No. 5-ranked Knights advance to meet No. 2 seed SMU in the championship match for the third-consecutive season. The Mustangs have prevailed in both previous title contests, with last season’s meeting decided in a penalty kick shootout. UCF, the 2019 regular season champions, is seeking its first-ever American Athletic Conference tournament crown.
 
Jennings’ performance marks just the third hat trick in American Championship history, while the Knights’ five goals ties the most scored in an American Championship game.
 
Louis Perez and Gino Vivi both tallied a pair of assists for the Knights, while goalkeeper Yannik Oettl turned aside three shots. Temple goalkeeper Simon Lefebvre finished with six saves. UCF held an 18-5 advantage on shots with a 10-2 edge on corners.
 
UCF was clicking on all cylinders from the opening whistle and broke through 20 minutes in. Itzik Efraim netted his first goal as a Knight to open the scoring, heading home the well-placed corner kick from Perez. Ten minutes later, Jennings registered his 14^th goal of the season, rocketing a loose ball to the far post for early insurance.
 
The highlight of the first half belonged to Mauricio Villalobos who struck in the 35^th minute for the hosts’ third goal. Villalobos managed to create just enough space for himself on the left side of the box, and looped a shot into the top right corner of the net.
 
Temple’s best chance at net in the second half came in the 60^th minute, when Esteban Suarez booted a shot from 25 yards out following a corner kick, but Oettl managed to make the leaping save.
 
Jennings completed the hat trick in the second frame, with both of his finishes coming on passes across the goal mouth. The senior made the score 4-0 in the 68^th minute off assists from Richard Amon and Vivi, and struck again from Vivi and Jonathan Dean in the 73^rd minute.
 
Saturday’s championship is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at the UCF Soccer & Track Complex and will be available live on ESPN3. The winner will earn The American’s automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Championship. The Knights and Mustangs previously battled to a 3-3 draw during the regular season.
 
2019 American Athletic Conference
Men’s Soccer Championship
 
Saturday, Nov. 9 – First Round
Hosted at campus sites
Game 1: No. 3 USF 1, No. 6 UConn 0
Game 2: No. 5 Temple 2, No. 4 Memphis 1 (2OT)
 
Wednesday, Nov. 13 – Semifinals
Hosted by UCF – American Digital Network
Game 3: No. 2 SMU 2, No. 3 USF 1 (2OT)
Game 4: No. 1 UCF 5, No. 5 Temple 0
 
Saturday, Nov. 16 – Championship
Hosted by UCF – ESPN3
Game 5: No. 2 SMU at No. 1 UCF – 7 p.m. ET