Men's Soccer Ranked #13 in Preseason PollMen's Soccer Ranked #13 in Preseason Poll

Men's Soccer Ranked #13 in Preseason Poll

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ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF men's soccer team will pick up right where they left off in the United Soccer Coaches Poll as they'll begin the 2021 campaign as the No. 13 team in the nation, per their release on Wednesday afternoon.

The Knights finished the 2020-21 season with a 9-4-1 record, turning a 1-3 start into the second consecutive Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA Tournament. UCF finished the year as the No. 13 team in the country, the highest mark the team achieved in the poll during the slate.

The No. 13 mark makes UCF the highest ranked team in Florida as well as the American Athletic Conference. Not only are the Knights at the top of that category, but they are the only ones in those categories, as no other team from Florida or The American are ranked in the top 25 or receiving votes.

After being a staple in the United Soccer Coaches poll, the Black and Gold didn't appear in the first two polls of 2020-21 (March 2 and 9) but began receiving votes in the March 16 edition. Prior to March 2, the Knights had been ranked since Oct. 9 of 2018 when UCF cracked into the poll at No. 19. They hadn't left the top 20 since that time and were top 15 or better since Sep. 17, 2019. The Knights climbed as high as No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, reaching their program best mark on Nov. 12.

UCF went 3-1 against ranked teams and opponents who received votes in 2020-21. They beat No. 9 SMU and then topped them again while they were receiving votes before going on to beat No. 17 James Madison in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

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