UCF Rallies for 3-1 Win at UC Davis

by Doug Richards
September 9, 2012

DAVIS, Calif.  – The UCF men’s soccer team scored all three of its goals, including a pair by McKauly Tulloch, in the second half Sunday as the Knights rallied for a 3-1 victory over UC Davis at Aggie Soccer Field. Tulloch scored the gamewinner in the 84th minute when he intercepted a pass from a UC Davis defender and beat goalkeeper Omar Zeenni.

The Knights (2-2), who were playing their second match of the weekend in California, went down 1-0 when Pat Reese scored for the Aggies (1-1-4) in the 20th minute. UCF still trailed at halftime, but then dominated after intermission. UCF outshot the hosts 10-5 in the second half after mustering only a pair of shots in the opening period.

Tulloch tied the contest in the 69th minute when he took a cross from Deshorn Brown and scored from six yards out. Brown added a score of his own with under a minute left in the match when he took a pass from Jeff Michaud in the box and beat Zeenni in the lower right corner.

“We came out in the second half and kept battling,” UCF head coach Bryan Cunningham said. “We chipped away possession by possession. We created and finished chances as a result of our hard work.”

UCF played at Cal Friday. The contests on the west coast served as the first matches in California for the Knights in program history.

“We were coming off of two tough losses and our guys were down Friday,” Cunningham said. “We gave up the goal early today and it was tough. But we kept fighting. We have a ways to go, but we learned a lot about ourselves on this trip. We’ll keep moving forward.”

The scores Sunday were the second and third of the weekend for Tulloch. The junior, who scored his first goal of the campaign at Cal, was a College Soccer Preseason All-America Third Team pick last month after recording 15 goals in 2011. Tulloch took five shots versus the Aggies, with three coming on goal.

Sebastian Evers earned the victory for the Knights in goal. He finished with two saves. Evers and defender Ben Hunt logged all 90 minutes for UCF in the physical match, which included 37 total fouls.

UCF will return to action Friday, hosting Jacksonville at 7:30 p.m. The match versus the Dolphins is part of a doubleheader at the UCF Soccer Complex. The UCF women’s team will begin the evening against North Florida at 5 p.m.

Trending Videos
 
IMG Academy Top 150 Rankings
see full ranking:
Boys Girls