ORLANDO (UCFKnights.com) – After two successful seasons, UCF men’s soccer head coach Scott Calabrese has signed a contract extension putting him at the helm of the program through 2023.
"I am excited to have Scott Calabrese leading our men’s soccer program,” said UCF Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Daniel J. White. “Our Knights have a great leader and are fortunate to learn from Scott every day. We're all very proud of the success Scott's team has had on the field and in the classroom the last two years, and we look forward to what's next for this program.”
In just his second season with UCF, Calabrese and the staff earned the American Athletic Conference Coaching Staff of the Year after winning the conference regular season title with a 5-1-1 record in The American. Overall, the Knights finished 13-3-3. Since becoming a Division I program, it is the third best record the Knights have garnered. UCF put together an impressive 8-2-3 record at the UCF Soccer Complex scoring 29 goals and grabbing 86 points.
“I can’t thank President Whittaker, Dr. White and Scott Carr enough for giving me the opportunity to continue to lead the men’s soccer program. It’s inspiring to serve an organization that has such a clear and positive vision of what it wants to become, and I feel grateful to have the opportunity to help our men’s soccer program play a part in that vision,” said Calabrese. “I am blessed to work for such and incredible University and Athletic department, my family loves it here and we couldn’t be happier being a part of the UCF family.“
Calabrese coached one of the best offenses in all of Division I. For the entire regular season, the Knights were ranked top 10 in the nation in almost every offensive category including total assists, total goals, total points, scoring offense, points per game, assists per game, goals per game, and have been the top team in shots per game and shots on goal per game. UCF was also the top team in The American in all those same categories.
Calabrese and the staff produced three major award winners (Offensive, Midfielder, Goalkeeper of the Year), seven All-Conference selections, and eight Player of the Week awards from The American. They also produced five All-Region selections and two All-Americans in Cal Jennings and Louis Perez. In addition to all the honors, the Knights capped off the regular season with a ranking of No. 9, which is the third highest in program history. Throughout the season, the Knights reached as high as No. 7.
Calabrese also produced a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist in Cal Jennings who scored 20 goals in 19 games including three hat tricks on the season.
For the sixth time in program history, the Knights reached the NCAA Tournament after earning a 14th seed, a first round bye, and hosting privileges.
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