ORLANDO, Fla. – After another impressive season under head coach Scott Calabrese, the No. 20 UCF men's soccer team found themselves all over the 2020-21 American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Regular Season Awards. Two Knights won major awards while six were named to all-conference squads while three were assigned to all-rookie teams.
MAJOR AWARDS
Yannik Oettl posted incredible numbers during the regular season and has earned his third straight Goalkeeper of the Year nod. He posted five clean sheets in just eight matches, turning aside 38 of 42 shots that came his way. The rest of his stat line is just as impressive, as he recorded a .905 save percentage and a .492 goals against mark, both numbers far superior to any other season in Oettl's career. He was victorious in six of eight starts this season and earned five nods as the conference's Goalkeeper of the Week.
Yoni Sorokin was honored as Co-Midfielder of the Year, the second straight time he has won the award. A Knight has won the previous three Midfielder of the Year nods, with Louis Perez winning it in 2018 and Sorokin earning it in 2019. He was just one point behind Gino Vivi and Hattabiou Barry for creating a three-way tie of the team lead in points as Sorokin scored four goals and tallied an assist this season. He has been a key factor in keeping the Black and Gold connected on both sides of the ball.
UCF was tabbed with the Team Fair Play award, as they were one of three teams in The American that didn't earn a red card this season. The Knights earned the second fewest yellow cards this season with a mark of 18.
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
The Black and Gold saw five of their own make it to the All-Conference First Team. Oettl, Vivi, Sorokin, Yanis Leerman and Anderson Rosa all were named to the top conference squad. Sorokin and Leerman were named to the First Team unanimously. Barry was the lone Knight named to the All-Conference Second Team.
This is the first time in program history that five players were named to the First Team. UCF had the most players named to the First Team, the next closest was Temple and SMU, each with two.
Sorokin was tabbed with his fourth First Team All-Conference nod thanks to his performance this year. He and Cal Jennings are the only Knights to earn the honor in all four of their seasons at UCF. Oettl's tally bumps up to three with his latest First Team nod as he has been on the squad for three straight seasons. After landing on the second team in 2018, Leerman made the jump to the first team in 2019 and is there again in 2020-21. Vivi was named to the All-Rookie team in 2019 and has risen to the First Team for the first time in his career. He posted impressive numbers yet again as he was tied for the team lead in points with four goals and two assists. Rosa, a standout freshman, has also made the First Team after collecting a goal and two assists this season.
Sorokin and Leerman were both unanimous selections to the All-Conference First Team.
Barry was named Second Team All-Conference for the second time in his career, with his previous honor coming in 2017. Barry was tied with Vivi for the team lead in scoring this season, scoring four goals and adding two assists.
ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
UCF has three freshmen on the All-Rookie Team as Lucca Dourado, Andrew Lizyness and Rosa, with Lizyness and Rosa earning a spot on the squad unanimously.
Dourado is fresh off his first career goal, scoring the equalizer in UCF's last match against SMU, a contest that saw the Knights mount their first comeback of the 2020-21 season. The true-freshman striker is among the top of the nation in shots on goal per game as well as shot accuracy.
Lizyness has played a key role all over the field this season. The midfielder has created some great opportunities for his teammates this season and has nearly tallied a few goals of his own, shooting one off the woodwork earlier in the campaign.
Rosa got onto the score sheet with a bang as his first goal was an incredible shot on a free kick from roughly 25 yards away. He played a key part on both sides of the ball for the Knights as he could defend the back line as well as join the rush offensively. Rosa is the first player to be named to the All-Conference First Team and the All-Rookie Team in the same season since Sorokin did it in 2017.
This is the first time the Knights have had three players named to the All-Rookie Team since Barry, Perez and Sorokin were named to the squad in 2017.
The three freshmen named to the All-Rookie Team also happen to be listed in TopDrawer's Top 100 Freshmen. Rosa checks in at No. 6 while Lizyness sits at No. 70 with Dourado just behind him at No. 83.
UP NEXT
As the American Athletic Conference regular season champions, UCF is set to host The American Championship at the UCF Soccer Complex April 15 and 17. The Knights host SMU on Thursday at 7 p.m.
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