ORLANDO – The UCF men's soccer team has landed three ACC transfers ahead of their 2022 season. AJ Seals, Raphael Crivello and Zane Bubb will suit up for the Black and Gold after formerly playing for NC State, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech respectively.
"We are excited to have these three join us," said head coach Scott Calabrese. "They bring experience and maturity from their time in college soccer. All three are high character young men."
Midfielder and rising redshirt senior Seals joins the Knights after spending four seasons at NC State. He played in all 17 matches last season, starting in 13. He tallied an assist in back-to-back games early during the 2022 campaign, earning assists against UNC Ashville and Seton Hall. Seals played a part in beating the Knights during the 2021 season, a 2-1 victory for the Wolfpack back on Sept. 6. Seals earned his degree at NC State and earned Magna Cum Laude honors. Seals is an Orlando native and was a part of the Orlando City SC Academy before heading to NC State.
Crivello is a rising senior who spent his last two seasons on defense for Pittsburgh. The Bordeaux, France native started in all 20 of the Panthers' games last season, earning three goals and a pair of assists. He scored two goals in Pitt's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 match, helping the Panthers earn a 4-0 victory over Hofstra. In his two years with Pitt, Crivello helped the team get to a College Cup in 2020-21 and the Elite Eight in 2021. The Panthers were back-to-back champions of the ACC Coastal Division.
Orlando will be the third stop of Bubb's collegiate career, as the rising redshirt senior spent two seasons at North Florida before transferring to Virginia Tech. He was a consistent starter in 2019 as a member of the Ospreys, starting in all 16 games. He played in eight games in his first year at Virginia Tech, scoring a goal in a 3-3 draw against UMass. He helped in beating No. 1 Marshall in 2021 by a score of 3-2, but went down with injury for the remainder of the season.
The three ACC transfers bring UCF's total newcomer number to eight, joining freshmen Junior Trucillo, Oscar Hough, Brandon Calderon, Ousmane Ba and Timothy Arias as new Knights for 2022. The five freshmen were a part of the team this spring. The Knights will announce a wave of newcomers joining UCF this fall in the coming weeks.
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