ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF men’s soccer team rolled to yet another victory after dismissing Georgia State, 5-1, on Tuesday night at UCF Soccer Complex.

The Knights extend their unbeaten streak to four matches and improve to 5-6-1 overall and 3-1-1 in The American Athletic Conference after playing at full intensity against the Panthers, who drop to 5-6-1 on the season.

“We just had to come out here and get a win and put the test on what we’ve worked on for the last week since the Memphis result and we did that,” UCF head coach Bryan Cunningham said of the Knights’ home victory. “I thought the guys came out here from the start and managed the game. To go up three-nothing in the first half is crucial because it kind of puts the game away. Then, we just battled out there in the second half and got two more goals. Unfortunately, we did let them get a goal, but in the end it was a good result against a very good non-conference opponent.”

Midfielder Omar Vallejo led UCF’s scoring efforts with two first period goals. Vallejo scored just 5:59 into the contest with a header off a cross into the box from Romario Williams, providing UCF the early lead. Vallejo would capitalize again in the 33rd minute from a nice pass that would bounce off a Panther to setup the goal and send UCF into the locker room with a 3-0 advantage.

Williams notched his team-best seventh goal of the season following a forward pass from Fernando Laverde down the right side (11:11).

The Knights carried the momentum throughout the second half with two more scoring opportunities as Laverde drove inside the box on the lower right corner to give UCF a commanding 4-0 advantage (54:10). Freshman Matt Laux, who saw 27 minutes against the Panthers, grabbed UCF’s fifth goal in the 68th minute.

Georgia State didn’t go down without a fight, however, as foward Caleb Kernan managed an unassisted goal for the Panthers lone score (76:44).

Looking ahead, the Knights will travel to Dallas on Saturday, October 19, where they will take on SMU at 8 p.m

NOTES: Omar Vallejo recorded his third and fourth goals of the season against the Panthers. Fernando Laverderecorded two assists for the night, while starters Romario Williams, Jake Weiss and Alex Marotta each recorded an assist. Subs Joe Amico and Matt Gaskins dished out one helper apiece as well. Knights keeper Sebastian Evers had two saves against GSU, while Panther’s protector CJ Cochran recorded one.

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