ORLANDO, Fla. – With the 2021 season right around the corner, the UCF men's soccer team's attack and midfield look as strong as ever.
The Knights return six players on the attack. Lucca Dourado and Gino Vivi look to build on a strong 2020-21 campaign with nine goals combined. Vivi led the Knights with 14 total points and was second in the conference and 14th nationally with three game-winning goals. Dourado was named to the American Athletic Conference's All-Rookie Team and the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the AAC Championships.
Jonas Schmalbach and Franco Loello are also returning. Schmalbach had one point last season with an assist against Memphis. He appeared in all 14 of UCF's matches, starting four of them while Loello appeared in four matches last season and recorded 53 minutes.
Gianluca Arcangeli and Brandon Golding return to the squad after not playing last season. Arcangeli racked up four goals in 2019, including a game-winner against Memphis. He earned AAC Player of the Week honors on 9/2 for his two goals over the first two matches of the 2019 season. He was unable to return to the U.S. due to COVID restrictions in his home country. Golding has appeared in two regular season matches for the Knights in his career and tallied two goals and one assist in an exhibition match against Tampa in 2017. He can play both forward and defender as well.
There are four newcomers to the attacking unit that will provide a fresh spark to the Knights' offense. Alessandro Campoy, Asher J'n Pierre, Nick Taylor, and Lucas Mauro will all dawn the Black and Gold for the first time this season.
Campoy transfers in from FIU, where he was named to the C-USA All-Conference First Team. He led the team with 10 points, scoring four goals and tallying two assists. Taylor comes to Orlando from SMU, where he started all 11 matches and scored two goals against South Florida. Mauro joins UCF from Barry, who didn't have a season in 2020-21 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019 at Cowley College, he was named to first-team All-Conference and All-Region. He scored 11 goals and tacked on four assists and earned a hat trick against Coffeyville CC. J'n Pierre is a freshman from Barbados. He scored ten goals and collected five assists in his junior year of high school. He was a Barbados 17U and 20U player as well.
The UCF midfield returns five Knights, captain Mauricio Villalobos Vega, Ariel Hadar, Josiah Ramirez, Caleb Franke and Beto Ydrach are all back for the 2021 campaign. Combined they tallied 12 points in total. Villalobos Vega and Ydrach were both named to the AAC All-Tournament Team. Owen Guske returns as well, with the ability to play midfield or defender.
The Knights welcome newcomers Robbie Soronellas, Kevin Andrews and Rainer De Jesus, the squad who will all be welcomed additions to the unit. Soronellas, the son of former Knight Frank Soronellas (1981-83), comes to the Black and Gold after playing in 26 matches over two seasons with North Florida. He tallied four goals and was named a unanimous ASUN All-Freshman in 2019. Athletic blood runs in the Andrews family as well, as the Minneapolis, Minn. native freshman's father was a U.S. Track & Field long distance record holder. He played for the Houston Dynamo U13/14 and Sporting KC U16/17 teams. De Jesus is a four-year NAIA player who tallied 15 goals and 49 points over 50 matches.
UP NEXT
UCF will begin their regular season campaign in less than as a week as they're set to host FIU on Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. at the UCF Soccer Complex.
SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets and individual game tickets for the 2021 men's soccer season are available now. To catch every moment on the pitch this year, click here.
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