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SWEET! Cal Jennings’ Golden Goal Sends UCF to Sweet 16

Knights had Missouri State their first loss of season, will face SMU again in next round

Cal Jennings
Derek Warden

Cal Jennings did it again.

The Knights all-everything senior captain scored a golden goal mere seconds into overtime to give the UCF Knights Men’s Soccer team a 2-1 victory over previously unbeaten Missouri State at the UCF Track & Soccer Complex in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s the big moment, with our very own Eric Lopez on the call:

It marks the first time UCF Men’s Soccer has reached the Sweet Sixteen in nine all-time NCAA appearances.

Missouri State, who came in at 18-0-1 on the year and ranked 12th in the nation, took a 1-0 lead, but the Knights got a header from Yoni Sorkin to equalize in the first half:

Jennings’ goal came off a cross from Gino Vivi, who also helped on Sorokin’s tally. Jennings and head coach Scott Calabrese discussed the game-winner after the match:

The Knights move on to face their old rivals, the SMU Mustangs, who defeated them in the American Athletic Conference Championship in Orlando just last week, 1-0. SMU defeated Coastal Carolina on a golden goal themselves by their scoring star, Garret McLaughlin, to move on:

This will be the seventh time UCF and SMU have hooked up in the last three seasons, with three of those match-ups coming in The American Championship. UCF has won only once, with three of those games going to extra time.

Earlier in the regular season, UCF played SMU to a 3-3 draw. The Round of 16 game will take place in Dallas (SMU is the 8-seed overall while UCF is the 9) on either November 30th or December 1st, as the schedule for the next round is still pending.