Men’s college soccer: No. 1 UCF falls to James Madison

The Halloween horrors hit the top-ranked men’s college soccer team, No. 1 UCF, as the Knights fell on the road to James Madison 2-1.

UCF entered the game looking to celebrate senior night as both Sun Belt teams played their season finale. The Knights came out firing, taking a 1-0 lead 6:13 into the game off the right foot of Clarence Awoudor, and played solid defense to keep James Madison scoreless in the first half.

Clarence’s third goal came with a pair of assists from two seniors, AJ and Beto!! 🥹 pic.twitter.com/UMEMqFDJiL

— UCF Men’s Soccer (@UCF_MSoccer) October 31, 2023

The second half looked to be more of the same as the nation’s No. 1 team tried to end its season with a seventh straight win. That is, until the 71st minute hit. With just under 20 minutes left in the game, James Madison tied the game up with a goal from Rodrigo Robles. Both teams battled in a 1-1 game until the Dukes took the lead with 87:18 to play as Cameron Arnold knocked in the go-ahead goal. From there, James Madison outlasted UCF for the 2-1 win.

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The win now gives James Madison a 1-1-1 record against top-three ranked teams this fall and ties its all-time series with UCF 2-2. With the loss, UCF loses the Sun Belt regular season title to Marshall, giving the Thundering Herd home-field advantage in the Sun Belt conference tournament.