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By Nate Blythe
UCFKnights.com

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AKRON, Ohio (UCFKnights.com) - With UCF facing a 1-0 deficit after halftime, freshman Matias Pyysalo scored the equalizing goal to even the match vs. College of Charleston, 1-1, in the 67th minute on Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium - Cub Cadet Field. The match ended in a 1-1 tie following two overtime periods.

An assist was credited to junior Romario Williams for the through pass to the middle of the box that setup Pyysalo's marker.

Senior defender Leonardo Ayala and Williams were selected to the Akron All-Tournament Team following the event.

"A lot of credit goes to College of Charleston for coming out fast and really overwhelming us early," head coach Bryan Cunningham said. "We were fortunate enough to not be down a couple of goals. We hung in there and went to halftime down just a goal.

"In the second half, we told the players that there is a goal out there for us, but we could not give away the second one. Give our players credit for being resilient and hanging around. We were able to equalize and had a few chances to earn a victory, but unfortunately it did not happen and the match ended in a draw."

Charleston (2-3-1) fired nine shots towards the Knights' net and finally broke through in the 27th minute. Tanner Clay notched his second of the campaign by heading in a short cross from Nico Rittmeyer.

UCF (1-3-1) senior goalkeeper Sebastian Evers made a season-high 12 saves during the contest, including two in overtime.

The Knights came out in the second half and fired three shots toward the net before Pyysalo scored the first goal for his team during the course of play. Williams converted penalty kicks for the two other UCF goals during the campaign.

Following the marker, Williams had a pair of shots that were saved in the 10 minutes afterwards.

Brian Kilgallon made three of his four saves for the Cougars during the second half.

Each squad recorded two shots in each 10-minute overtime period, but neither team was able to breakthrough.

"These Friday/Sunday games are tough physically as well as mentally," Cunningham said. "Our players can learn from our two road trips because if we want to win the conference tournament, then we are going to play a semifinal on a Friday and a final on Sunday. Hopefully, we can grow from these two experiences, playing good teams on the road, as well as we move forward."

UCF presented by Napleton's Volkswagen returns to the UCF Soccer Complex on Wednesday against North Florida with the kick set for 7 p.m. The match is slated to be the second of three free broadcasts on CBS College Sports Live.

Season tickets, which includes a general admission seat to all regular season home matches and a special soccer scarf, are on-sale for $30. Youth (age 2-17) season tickets can be purchased for $15. For more information on how to purchase tickets click here or call 407-UCF-1000.

The University of Akron Tournament
All-Tournament Team
#3 Saad Abdul-Salaam, Defender (Akron)
#15 Jesse Garcia-Aguilar, Midfielder (Akron)
#10 Adam Najem, Midfielder (Akron)
#20 Brad Ruhaak, Defender (Akron)
#5 Jhaime Hyde, Defender (Hartford)
#16 Andre Morrison, Defender (Hartford)
#17 Rohan Roye, Defender (Hartford)
#7 Romario Williams, Forward (UCF)
#4 Leonardo Ayala, Defender (UCF)
#4 Daan Brinkman, Defender (Col. of Charleston)
#14 Kye West, Midfielder (Col. of Charleston)

Offensive MVP: Saad Abdul-Salaam, Defender, 1 G 1 A (Akron)
Defensive MVP: Brad Ruhaak, Defender (Akron)

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