ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 9 UCF men's soccer team became the American Athletic Conference regular season champions Friday night after the took down Cincinnati, 1-0 at the UCF Soccer Complex.

After a one-hour delay due to a brief storm and following the ceremony honoring the 10 seniors, the Knights brought their own storm tallying up 26 shots with 13 on target.

Louis Perez was the hero for UCF with a perfect strike in the 84th minute to end the regular season in the best way.

With the win, the Knights will host The American tournament from Nov. 6-10 at the UCF Soccer Complex.

The Knights finish the regular season 12-2-2 overall and 5-1-1 in The American, which is the most conference wins the Knights have earned since joining the conference.

SCORING

UCF | 83:41 | Perez delivered a hard left-footed curler from 25 yards to the back post over the fingertips of a diving keeper.

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Knights piled on 13 shots in the first half with Cal Jennings, Yoni Sorokin, and Hattabiou Barry each tacking on three. UCF finished with 26 shots compared to Cincinnati's seven.

This is UCF's first regular season championship in The American and their first conference championship since 2004 when UCF was in the Atlantic Sun.

UCF's 12 wins is the most wins the Knights have had in a season since 2011.

The win brings the Knights' unbeaten streak to eight matches and improves their home record to 7-1-2 on the season.

The Knights have made The American postseason tournament every year since the conference began in 2013.

Yannik Oettl registered his fourth shutout of the season facing two shots on goal. The sophomore finishes the regular season with a 12-2-2 record as he has played all 1,485 minutes between the posts.

The Black and Gold finished with the best overall record in The American, with UConn just behind with a 10-4-2 season.

UCF shares the regular season champs title with SMU. Each team compiled 14 points in conference play.

THE AMERICAN TOURNAMENT

The Knights will be the No. 1 seed in this year's tournament and will also host five matches.

UCF will receive a first-round bye and will face the winner of Tuesday's match between UConn and Temple on Thursday.

The action begins on Tuesday, Nov. 6 with the first two rounds. The semifinal matches will be played on Thursday, Nov. 8, and the championship match will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10. All Tournament info can be found here.

FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS

Follow UCF Men's Soccer on social media on Facebook (/UCFMensSoccer), Twitter (@UCF_MSoccer) and Instagram (@UCF.MSoccer).

GET THE APP

Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone! The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news.