ORLANDO, Fla. – University of Connecticut sophomore forward Ethan Vanacore-Decker (Manahawkin, N.J.)  tallied his third goal of the season to lift the UConn men’s soccer team to a 1-0 win over conference foe Central Florida on Saturday night at the UCF Soccer Complex. The victory moved the Huskies to 5-6-2 overall and 3-1-1 in conference play and put head coach Ray Reid (399-103-63) just one win away from 400. The Knights (0-2-3 American) dropped to 1-8-4 in 2014 with the loss.

Vanacore-Decker’s goal came in the 9th minute following a turnover by UCF goalkeeper Zach Biggs. The defensive miscue by the Knights left sophomore forward Cyle Larin (Brampton, Ontario) with the ball, and the Connecticut striker found Vanacore-Decker, who rifled a shot from the top of the box past Biggs and into the top right corner of the net.

 His goal would be enough for Huskies on Saturday, as redshirt freshman goalkeeper Scott Levene (Stamford, Conn.) notched another clean sheet for UConn. Levene (3-1-1), who finished the match with two saves, has now tallied a shutout in four of his last five starts.

Larin nearly matched his career-high for assists in the 44th minute when he slipped the ball to redshirt freshman defender Andrew Geres (Portland, Conn.) near the right side of the box. Geres was unable to take advantage of the scoring chance, sending the ball wide left of the net.

In the 75th minute it was Larin with the chance at a goal after he found some space in the UCF box, but his chip on net was saved with ease by Biggs. The Knights, who put just two shots on goal in the game, had one final chance at an equalizer in the 90th minute when forward Romario Williams curled in a shot from distance. The ball missed the net, sailing out of bounds over the cross bar.  

UConn resumes conference play on Wednesday night when it hosts Temple at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium. The match kicks off at 7 p.m.

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