UCF Men's Soccer Coach Scott Calabrese Breaks Down Knights' Win Over No. 18 South Carolina

Well, it was obviously we were really good in some counterattacking moments and found the back of the net, sometimes maybe against the run of play in different moments. And then I thought we defended well, especially when we were a little bit lower on the field, really made it difficult for them to create the type of chances that they like to create. they're obviously an excellent team having a very good season so you know it was it was a game where we weren't fully in control they had they had large periods of the game where they were in control but but we did limit their chances and and that was important then of course we broke on them a few times and that's where we hurt them coach you made the most of your opportunities shooting on goal with three of your four shots on goal going in just what what have you been seeing offensively with this team that maybe you weren't seeing earlier on in the season well i think in this game the type of chances that presented themselves were counter-attacking chances bigger spaces moments where you you were 1v1 um and and you know some some really good moments Ethan with an unbelievable goal um Lenny being able to kind of break out of the back with the the ball, break their press, and then when we did break their press, we were able to accelerate and create a great chance So really, really happy, especially for Ethan to come in and make such a difference It was really good to see. Your team responded every time they, you know when they scored, you responded right back. Yeah, yeah. That second half was at a different level. Yeah, I think, you know, the the pressure that South Carolina was putting on our back line was was difficult for us to break at times um and then and then we did break it but to to your point South Carolina they they got a goal we were able to respond quickly get another goal um and and maintain our advantage uh so really well done the guys were incredible tonight sometimes um the game doesn't look like this free-flowing ball on the floor uh where you're in control all the time possessing the ball bringing it up especially when you have a good team that's that's decided they're gonna meet you and they're gonna press you, that's what we had tonight so really good for our guys to be able to adapt, be able to play in that style of game and and then to find the goal you've played three ranked opponents this season thus far, how does it feel to finally get a ranked win, yeah I think it was important right for so many reasons so I want to say the RPI of South Carolina was like six, so very, very high RPI. If you wanna make a run to be able to be in the tournament, you're gonna need some wins like that down the stretch. So our guys know that, there's a lot on the line. Three points in the conference table, they're aware of that. And we wanna make sure we're able to continue our season. So this was really important. And I'm really happy the guys were able to fight through some really difficult moments. What can you say about adversity and the way your team handles that adversity? I mean, I think that's a really good question. I think we have had plenty of it this year in lots of different ways. And I think our guys have been able to deal with it, move on. And then this performing on the field is then something else, right? they're able to compartmentalize some difficult things that have happened within our team. And then, okay, now we're out here, we're able to perform and it's those guys doing it together, right? So no, I'm really proud of the group, how they responded. What does it mean for Drew Hanson to have the performance like he did today? Yeah, I think this has been in Drew for a while. And of course it's always for a forward, They need to get on the board. They need to hit the back of the net. And you see now that he's got his rhythm. I think also players around him have to learn, like, how do we play with Drew? Where does Drew like to run? Where does he want the ball? So I think Drew's done great. We always believed that Drew was going to be a goal scorer for us, and he's performing really well. And we need him to keep going, keep scoring more and more. I got to meet Jim Rudy today. He was here for both soccer matches there. What a guy. He's a little more nervous in this second match, I'll tell there. But speak of him and you getting to know him and what he's meant to you as far as leading the men's program that he literally built and found. Yeah, I think meeting Jim and seeing how, in particular, how his players view him, his former players, and how much they love him. And how he has united that group and stayed connected to that group. I think, I hope one day that I am thought of, you know, when I'm in that position, I've retired in a similar way. And that just speaks to the relationships that he's built with his teams throughout the years. And he's such a supporter of us and our program. So, you know, he brings a big crowd with him, which is great. So whenever we have an alumni weekend, if Jim's coming, then there's 30 other people that are definitely showing up. um so i've really i've really enjoyed getting to know him uh he he's a great guy yeah and you also had a lot of women's soccer alums and current team supporting the guys here tonight i know your guys when you have the opportunity return the favor talk about that that that synergy of the two programs obviously you and tiff obviously are tight but like there's this common that bond between the two of you yeah i mean i what whenever whenever we're doing an alumni reunion a hundred 100%, if the men are asked, they want the women there too. And I think they've, and vice versa. So I think, you know, and it's actually quite similar with our group. Like we have a really good relationship with the women's program from our staff, but also from our players. And we're always out there supporting them. We're always watching their games. They're always watching our games. So it's, you don't always get that actually in every program. So I think it's really nice to see. What's the difference in your team's game now versus what it was at the beginning of the season? I think we're more efficient in the final third. I mean, that was a very different game for us than maybe some others because of how we were being pressed. But I think you have to be able to be flexible, right? If a team comes and presses you and you have to be more vertical, you have to figure out, okay, how can we create chances and be more effective, be more vertical, and go into goal quicker? there's some games, Coastal Carolina teams sit off you, you've got to understand how do we build up in a team that's going to go into a mid block or a low block and how do you control the game that way so I think this is pretty much every year and this has got a lot of new players everybody is learning these different these different ideas and so I think now we're effective in different types of games, in different moments in different types of games the relationships between players are are getting better and better so you see like Eric coming on and stepping up Joakim has a really good game tonight uh Partera has been kind of like from the beginning at a really good level but i think i think you're seeing more and more players become more and more comfortable with with each other um and and in different types of games we'll do two more questions for coach what do you need to see from your team between you got two more matches before the Sun Belt Tournament. So what do you need to see from that team in those two matches to be where you want to be for that tournament? Well, I think, A, we've got to recover because this was the third game in a seven-day period. Yeah. That's a lot. Against three teams in the top 25. Three excellent teams. To go away to West Virginia and then to fly back, that is not an easy trip. That is a really difficult team to play against. It took everything. We gave everything in that game, too. So we have to be resilient, and you have to be tough, and you have to be able to deal with the fact that you're playing games every four or five days. So now we've got to turn around. We've got to play a game Thursday. All right. So not a whole lot of time to recover, but we've got to recover. We've got to learn as much as we can from the match and go again. But the most important thing is that we're able to get the three points tonight. That was critical. All good? Yes, sir. Thanks, Coach. Thank you. Thanks, Coach.