Rematch against FGCU will be tough NCAA test

The Knights (11-5-3) received good news Monday when they found out they had received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and would host a tournament game. UCF will host Florida Gulf Coast (12-5-2) Thursday night at 7 p.m.

"The fact that we are hosting an NCAA game for the second-straight year speaks volumes about how far our program has come," coach Bryan Cunningham said in a release. "It is a huge honor for us to host a first-round game. It is great that we can reward our fans with another home game."

UCF and FGCU played once this season on Sept. 24. FGCU handed the Knights their first loss of the season in a 2-1 match at the UCF Soccer Complex.

FGCU earned an automatic-bid to the NCAA tournament by winning the Atlantic Sun championship. The Eagles defeated Eastern Tennessee State 1-0 for the conference championship and the first-ever NCAA tournament berth in school history.

UCF fell to UAB in the Conference USA tournament. The Knights started the season 6-0-1, the longest unbeaten streak in school history. Other accomplishments this season for the Knights include having six players chosen to an all-conference team and having a record of 6-2 at home.

This will be the second consecutive year UCF has hosted an NCAA tournament game. The Knights defeated USF 3-0 in last year's first-round matchup.

If the Knights win Thursday night, they move on to play at USF, who is ranked 7th nationally and was granted a first-round bye.