ORLANDO, Fla. – After being one of the highest scoring offenses during the 2021 season, the men's soccer team had nine Knights named to The American's All-Conference First and Second Teams as well as the All-Rookie Team.
Landing on the American Athletic Conference's All-Conference First Team was Lucca Dourado, a unanimous selection. Gino Vivi, Nick Taylor, Mauricio Villalobos Vega, Yanis Leerman and Anderson Rosa were all named to the All-Conference Second Team while Kevin Andrews, Lucas Mauro and Tyler Lavigne were named to the All-Rookie Team.
UCF was tied with Tulsa for the conference lead of players who made the First and Second Teams with each program with six honorees. The Knights tied Memphis for the most players named to the All-Rookie Team with three each.
ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
Dourado has been near the top of the national leaderboard in goals, goals per game and game-winning goals all season long, making him a sure bet to land on the All-Conference First Team. He was unanimously named to the First Team honor, earning 12 goals and an assist during the regular season. He is currently second in the country in game-winning goals, collecting six so far. The Sao Paulo, Brazil native spent time as the national leader in all three categories at some point during the season. The All-Conference First Team nod is the first for Dourado after landing on the All-Rookie Team in 2020-21. During the season, he earned a nod as The American's Offensive Player of the Week and made an appearance on the conference's weekly honor roll.
ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
Vivi is tied for second on the team in points this season, tallying four goals and five assists. He has been a key part of the Knights' attack this season, sitting 18th in the country in shots per game and 23rd in shots on target per game. This season's nod to the All-Conference Second Team is the third All-Conference honor of Vivi's career along with his First Team selection in 2020-21 and All-Rookie Team in 2019. Vivi was named to this season's All-Conference Preseason Team and was on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List to begin the year. He was tabbed as TopDrawer Soccer's No. 64 player in college soccer at the midway point of the season.
UCF's captain, Villalobos, earns his first All-Conference honor of his career by landing on the Second Team. He's scored two goals on the 2021 campaign and has added four assists. One of his goals was a game-winner, securing the Black and Gold's comeback victory against then-No. 24 SMU.
Taylor has had a season to remember and has scattered his name all over the national leaderboards throughout the year. Entering the conference tournament, Taylor has recorded nine assists, which is good enough for ninth in the country in assists and fifth in assists per game. The SMU transfer has scored two goals on the campaign and is tied for second in points on the team with 13.
Leerman earns his fourth straight nod to an All-Conference squad, landing on the Second Team for the second time of his career after being a First Team member in 2019 and 2020-21. One of the rocks of UCF's backline, Leerman began the year on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List and was named the conference's Preseason Defender of the Year. He's collected a career high three assists this season and was named to TopDrawer Soccer's Midseason Top 100 list, checking in at No. 77.
Another solid piece of the UCF defense lands on the All-Conference Second Team as Rosa earns a spot with another conference squad for the second straight year. He earned an All-Rookie selection as well as a First Team honor in his freshman campaign. Rosa has scored a goal and tallied three assists during the 2021 season and was tabbed as the No. 72 overall player in TopDrawer Soccer's Midseason Top 100. He was the only Knight to win an American Defensive Player of the Week award during the campaign.
ALL-CONFERENCE ROOKIE TEAM
For the second straight season, three members of the Black and Gold were named to The American's All-Rookie Team.
Lavigne earns his nod to the conference's All-Rookie squad after starting in 10 matches, posting a .627 save percentage and a 1.93 goals allowed average. Lavigne earned a combined shutout in his first collegiate appearance against North Florida but had to leave due to injury after a collision with the opposition. The St. Cloud native went 7-1 in goal through his first eight matches and earned his first solo shutout with a career-high six saves against Temple.
Andrews has been an incredible performer off the bench for the Knights this season. The rookie has appeared in 14 matches, starting in one. He has tallied three assists so far this season and is an electric factory every time he touches the ball. Andrews earned his first collegiate points against FGCU, earning two assists in a 6-2 rout of the Eagles.
Mauro's first year in Division I soccer has been a success. He has played in all 15 of UCF's matches to this point, seeing his name in the starting eleven three times. Mauro earned his first and only goal as a Knight against North Florida earlier on in the season and has been an offensive threat ever since. Mauro played one season of JUCO soccer at Cowley before transferring to Barry University. Before he could suit up for the Division II school, the season was cancelled due to COVID-19.
The future is bright for UCF men's soccer, as the team has had nine Knights named to the All-Rookie Team over the past four seasons. Of those nine, seven are still wearing the Black and Gold and look to make a big impact on the upcoming American Athletic Conference Championship.
UP NEXT
Second-seeded UCF will face third-seeded Memphis in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship on Nov. 10 in Tulsa, Okla. at 5:30 p.m. ET.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Men's Soccer on social media on Facebook (/UCFMensSoccer), Twitter (@UCF_MSoccer) and Instagram (@UCF.MSoccer).
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone. The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news. Click here to download the app now.
