After opening Conference USA play with a pair of victories over ranked teams last week, the UCF men’s soccer team has moved to No. 6 nationally in the Soccer America Top 25. The ranking is the highest in school history for the Knights, who are 8-1-1 overall in 2011.

Last week, head coach Bryan Cunningham’s team began league play by rallying for a 2-1 overtime victory over visiting Kentucky. The Wildcats were ranked 21st by the NSCAA. The Knights then headed to Dallas and rolled to a 4-2 win at SMU, a team ranked No. 21 in the Soccer America poll.

“When you look at the start of our Conference USA schedule, you see Kentucky and on the road at SMU. We knew that it wouldn’t be easy to come out with two wins. This is a terrific start to our conference season. We couldn’t be happier with the commitment level of our players,” Cunningham said.

UCF was listed at No. 10 in last week’s Soccer America Top 25.

Connecticut is first in this week’s poll, followed by Maryland, defending national champion Akron, North Carolina and Creighton.

UCF will return to action Saturday when the Knights host C-USA foe South Carolina at 4 p.m. at the UCF Soccer Complex.