2008 Woodie Awards
Men's soccer season tied to many one-goal losses
Padrick Brewer
Issue date: 12/10/07 Section: Sports
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After a decent showing in 2006, in which the UCF Men's Soccer team went 6-9-2 overall and 3-3-2 in Conference USA, the Knights had a disappointing 2007 campaign.
Before the season, the Knights' leading scorer, Zak Boggs, transferred to South Florida and perhaps their best goalkeeper, Brian Pope, was injured.
All of that combined to cause the Knights to struggle to a 4-12-2 record, going 0-6-2 in C-USA.
The story of the year for UCF was one-goal differentials.
The Knights had 12 of their 18 contests decided by one goal. Unfortunately, UCF went just 4-8 in those matches.
Time and again, the Knights looked as though they would be able to net the equalizer or pull away from an opponent, but it just never materialized.
UCF had a tendency to start slow, scoring just eight goals in the first half of matches all year. Opponents scored 16 times in the first frame, and the Knights were often battling from behind as they tried to keep the match close.
Senior goalkeeper Brian Pope missed almost the entire season due to an injury, but that didn't mean he wasn't contributing.
Pope helped coach freshman Sean Johnson, who won the starting job in the offseason.
Johnson looked comfortable in goal, and his athleticism and talent kept the Knights in a lot of matches.
Johnson made 83 saves and had two shutouts: A win over Loyola-Marymount on Sept. 9 and a double-overtime tie against South Carolina on Nov. 4 in the penultimate match of the season.
Against the Gamecocks, a match in which the Knights managed 17 shots and just four on goal, Johnson made a season-high 10 saves.
UCF reached the high point of its season a little early, when it moved to 4-3-1 on the season with a 2-1 win over Wofford on Sept. 23.
After that win, the Knights went winless for the last month-and-a-half of their season, finishing last in C-USA and being left out of the Conference USA Championship.
During that span, the Knights faced three teams ranked in the top 25, and only No. 15 Saint Louis kept them scoreless.
UCF scored in the closing minutes to fall to No. 11 SMU 3-1 on Oct. 6, and the Knights gave No. 20 Tulsa all it could handle in a 2-1 loss on Oct. 21.
Leading the Knights on offense was midfielder/forward Ryan Roushandel, who finished with eight goals and one assists. His 17 points were tied for fourth and his eight goals were tied for second in C-USA.
UCF had just three other players aside from Roushandel to score more than one goal: forwards Mike Mattson, James Georgeff and freshman Matt Luzunaris.
UCF has a wealth of young talent. Another year of experience under the belts of freshmen Johnson, Nathaniel Jocelyn and Dustin McCarty, and sophomores Cam Jordan, Akin Akinrinade and Jamal Robinson bodes well for the Knights to come back in 2008 and not just get back to a winning record, but also compete in the Conference USA Championship.
Before the season, the Knights' leading scorer, Zak Boggs, transferred to South Florida and perhaps their best goalkeeper, Brian Pope, was injured.
All of that combined to cause the Knights to struggle to a 4-12-2 record, going 0-6-2 in C-USA.
The story of the year for UCF was one-goal differentials.
The Knights had 12 of their 18 contests decided by one goal. Unfortunately, UCF went just 4-8 in those matches.
Time and again, the Knights looked as though they would be able to net the equalizer or pull away from an opponent, but it just never materialized.
UCF had a tendency to start slow, scoring just eight goals in the first half of matches all year. Opponents scored 16 times in the first frame, and the Knights were often battling from behind as they tried to keep the match close.
Senior goalkeeper Brian Pope missed almost the entire season due to an injury, but that didn't mean he wasn't contributing.
Pope helped coach freshman Sean Johnson, who won the starting job in the offseason.
Johnson looked comfortable in goal, and his athleticism and talent kept the Knights in a lot of matches.
Johnson made 83 saves and had two shutouts: A win over Loyola-Marymount on Sept. 9 and a double-overtime tie against South Carolina on Nov. 4 in the penultimate match of the season.
Against the Gamecocks, a match in which the Knights managed 17 shots and just four on goal, Johnson made a season-high 10 saves.
UCF reached the high point of its season a little early, when it moved to 4-3-1 on the season with a 2-1 win over Wofford on Sept. 23.
After that win, the Knights went winless for the last month-and-a-half of their season, finishing last in C-USA and being left out of the Conference USA Championship.
During that span, the Knights faced three teams ranked in the top 25, and only No. 15 Saint Louis kept them scoreless.
UCF scored in the closing minutes to fall to No. 11 SMU 3-1 on Oct. 6, and the Knights gave No. 20 Tulsa all it could handle in a 2-1 loss on Oct. 21.
Leading the Knights on offense was midfielder/forward Ryan Roushandel, who finished with eight goals and one assists. His 17 points were tied for fourth and his eight goals were tied for second in C-USA.
UCF had just three other players aside from Roushandel to score more than one goal: forwards Mike Mattson, James Georgeff and freshman Matt Luzunaris.
UCF has a wealth of young talent. Another year of experience under the belts of freshmen Johnson, Nathaniel Jocelyn and Dustin McCarty, and sophomores Cam Jordan, Akin Akinrinade and Jamal Robinson bodes well for the Knights to come back in 2008 and not just get back to a winning record, but also compete in the Conference USA Championship.