Two exhibition ties mean Knights have a long way to go

Men's soccer coach Bryan Cunningham was not hesitant to describe the state of the Knights Saturday after their second straight exhibition tie.

"We're a long way from where we want to be. We're preseason top 25, but I just told the team right there we're not a top-25 team yet," Cunningham said. "We have some things to clean up. Possessions have got to get better; defensively, we have to get better, and we [have] to put the ball in the back of the net because that's what wins games."

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The two games were played at home as preseason exhibitions, the first one being a 2-2 tie against the University of Tampa and the second being a 1-1 tie against Saint Leo University. Although neither of the games resulted in a win for the Knights, senior Warren Creavalle emphasizes the importance of exhibition games as opportunities to see how the team is developing.

"In both of the exhibition games, we [had] different players playing different positions. We're out here working on our weaknesses, seeing what teams can expose from us and obviously working our way into the regular season," Creavalle said.

Cunningham used the game Saturday night to evaluate his team.

"I thought we corrected some mistakes tonight, we just didn't finish chances," Cunningham said. "You [have] to give credit to [Saint Leo], they hung in there until the end and scored a nice goal to tie the match, but if we finished some chances in the first half and the second half, to be honest, it's a different game. But, we'll take the positives and the negatives and move forward towards next week."

The regular season begins Friday at Jacksonville University. The team is coming into the season with high expectations after making it to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2010 and being ranked No. 33 in the NCAA preseason poll. UCF was chosen to finish second in Conference USA in the preseason press voting.

Not only did the Knights receive preseason honors as a team, but some players earned individual accolades, as well. Creavalle was awarded with preseason first-team All-Region and second-team All-American honors. Joining Creavalle was senior Kevan George and junior Nik Robson, who both received third-team All-Region bids.

"It's a great honor," Creavalle said. "It's preseason so it's all [on] last year, basically. I'm trying to work even harder this year, get together with the team and take it even farther."

Last year's success combined with this team's potential has left the players and coaches with championship hopes for 2011.

"The goal is to win championships here," Cunningham said. "We're a top-25 team so we want to be a top-10 team and want to be competing for conference championships and national championships, and that's why we work hard every day."

Games to watch:

— Sept. 28 vs. Kentucky – UCF's first conference game will be at home against Kentucky and will be televised on Bright House Sports Network.

— Oct. 1 at SMU – Arguably the team's toughest challenge this year is C-USA foe SMU. The Mustangs were ranked No. 6 in the NCAA preseason poll and are the favorite to win the conference. Look for this game to potentially be a battle for the top spot in C-USA.

— Oct. 8 vs. South Carolina – The Knights will battle the Gamecocks after playing two tough opponents in Kentucky and SMU. At No. 10 in the NCAA preseason poll, this home matchup will be a good one.

Players to watch:

— Attacking players: A.J. Nelson, Kevan George, Nik Robson and Warren Creavalle

Cunningham's take: "[Nelson, George and Creavalle] are tremendous players. They move the ball, and they get the game moving for us. [Robson] is a little banged up right now but he played well tonight. He's going to be a nice presence for us."

— Defense: Spencer Scott

Cunningham's take: "Scott on the wing is pretty dependable for us."