ORLANDO – As announced by the Sun Belt Conference Monday afternoon, the UCF men's soccer team has been picked to finish fourth in the conference's preseason coaches' poll with a total of 68 points, including one first-place vote.
The squad also saw a pair of Knights named to the Sun Belt Men's Soccer Preseason All-Conference Team, as defender Anderson Rosa and forward Lucca Dourado both garnered the honor for the third and second consecutive season, respectively.
The Knights' 68 points in the Sun Belt's preseason poll slot the program behind first-place Kentucky (93), Marshall (91) and West Virginia (77), while UCF comes in ahead of South Carolina (5th, 49), Georgia State (T-6th, 45), Coastal Carolina (T-6th, 45), James Madison (8th, 40), Old Dominion (9th, 26), and Georgia Southern (10th, 16).
UCF enters the 2023 campaign looking to take a step forward in its new conference following an up-and-down 2022 slate that saw the Knights finish 6-7 in their 13 matches. The season was not without many encouraging performances, though, including the efforts of Rosa and Dourado throughout the fall schedule.
Rosa was picked to a conference's preseason all-conference squad for the third consecutive season after earning selections to the last two American Athletic Conference Preseason All-Conference teams prior to the 2021 and 2022 campaigns.
The three-year starter out of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil brought home his second AAC All-Conference First Team selection on the heels of a 2022 season that saw him play every minute for the Knights. Rosa also scored a goal for the third straight year to begin his collegiate career, accompanied by one assist, on four shots on goal.
Dourado, like Rosa, was named to The American's All-Conference First Team for the second time a year ago, after the São Paulo, Brazil, native scored a team-leading 11 goals. His 0.85 goals per game paced the AAC and ranked second in the nation, and his 1.69 points per game were good for second in the conference and seventh in the country.
The two joined recent LA Galaxy draft pick Gino Vivi as invitees to the 2022 Adidas MLS College Showcase in December, making the Knights one of five programs in the nation to send at least three players to college soccer's biggest MLS scouting event.
After completing their Saturday home exhibition against Jacksonville, Rosa, Dourado and the Knights will conclude their preseason schedule Aug. 17 on the road at South Florida, before their 2023 season-opener at Clemson Aug. 24.