TULSA, Okla. – UCF reached the American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship final for the fifth straight season, taking down Memphis 6-0 in the opening semifinal of the 2021 American Championship on Wednesday night at Hurricane Stadium.
The six goals scored by the Knights established a conference record in an American tournament match. UCF held a 21-9 edge in shots, outpointing Memphis 8-1 in shots on goal. The Knights, the 2020 American champion, earned their first conference title last season by shutting out Tulsa 1-0 in Orlando.
UCF raced out to a 1-0 lead on the very first shot of the match. A through ball rolled onto Rainer De Jesus up the right flank and De Jesus buried the shot into the right corner of the net from Lucca Dourado and Anderson Rosa to push the Knights in front at 3:18.
It was nearly 2-0 UCF a mere 17 seconds later after Mauricio Villalobos got free to the right of the Memphis goal. Villalobos rang a shot off the bar to narrowly miss the two-goal advantage.
UCF finally vaulted ahead at 2-0 in the 25th minute. Gino Vivi worked down the left of the pitch and centered him at the top of the 18-yard box. Vivi uncorked a right-footed blast into the back of the net for the Knight tally at 24:12.
The No. 2 seed continued to pour on the offense in the 28th minute. Vivi cruised down the left flank and centered a cutting Dourado in front of the frame. Dourado deposited his conference-high 13th goal of the season on the re-direction, and it was 3-0 UCF at 27:25.
Top assist man for UCF Nick Taylor decided to join the scoring fray for the Knights in the 38th minute, weaving his way through the Memphis defense heading toward the right Tigers goalpost. Taylor scored on a falling right-footed strike into the Memphis net at 37:53 for the 4-0 UCF edge at halftime.
UCF came out of the half roaring and quickly added to its goal tally. The Knights earned a penalty on the rush when Memphis goalkeeper Parker Lackland fouled Franco Loello in the box. UCF’s Yanis Leerman drilled the penalty attempt into the right upper 90 for the 5-0 UCF lead.
Vivi continued his steady play by officially bagging a brace in the 59th minute. Vivi banked home his second of the night to chase Lackland from the match with a 6-0 lead at 58:24.
2021 American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship
November 10, 11 & 14, 2021
Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Semifinal 1 - Wednesday, November 10
No. 2 UCF 6, No. 3 Memphis 0
Semifinal 2 - Thursday, November 11
No. 4 SMU vs. No. 1 Tulsa – 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Final - Sunday, November 14
No. 2 UCF vs. TBA – 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT (ESPN+)