ORLANDO – As the program completes its transition from the American Athletic Conference to the Sun Belt this fall, the UCF men’s soccer team brings a balanced mix of newcomers and returning experience to its defensive scheme in 2023. Like last season, the Knights roster 12 players as either defenders or goalkeepers, including five new faces.
GOALKEEPERS
Calabrese’s squad rolls into the 2023 fall slate with a young goalkeeping corps, as sophomore Juanvi Muñoz is the lone netminder rostered by UCF with prior collegiate experience. The Valencia, Spain, native enters the new season looking to build upon an impressive debut season in Orlando after he was bestowed American Athletic Conference All-Conference Rookie Team honors, as well as one AAC Rookie of the Week selection, for his efforts during his freshman 2022 campaign.
Muñoz started each of the Knights’ 13 matches, recording a 1.46 goals-against average that represented the sixth-best mark in The American, as well as a pair of clean sheets against UC Riverside and Temple, in 1,170 minutes between the posts. He also ranked among conference leaders a year ago in saves per game (3.69, 5th) and total saves (48, 5th).
In addition to his two shutouts, during which he made a combined seven saves, Muñoz tallied a single-game season-high seven saves during the Knights’ 2-1 win over North Florida Aug. 29, and he also registered five saves while facing a season-high 23 shot attempts during UCF’s 3-1 victory against FIU Oct. 9.
Joining Muñoz on the goaltending depth chart are freshmen Shane Wright and Pablo Ossabal and returning redshirt-freshman Luciano Natoli.
Wright and Ossabal represent two of the Knights’ 11 newcomers, with the former coming off a state championship-winning senior season and an Orlando Player of the Year selection with Trinity Prep, and the latter earning experience with Orlando City’s MLS Next team. Natoli joined UCF as a freshman prior to the 2022 slate but did not see game action. He came to UCF from Inter Miami CF II, Miami's MLS Next Pro team.
DEFENDERS
In support of its four netminders, UCF brings eight defenders into the 2023 campaign, including three newcomers and five returners.
Fifth-year seniors Zane Bubb and Raphael Crivello, senior Anderson Rosa, sophomore Timothy Arias, and redshirt freshman Brandon Calderon represent the Knights’ returning defenders, while fifth-year senior Jonas Fritschi, freshmen Ron Ben Dakon and Arne Michaelis all join UCF’s roster looking to make an impression as newcomers.
Bubb, entering his second season with the Knights, appeared in each of UCF’s first four matches last season before suffering a season-ending injury. He recorded one shot attempt in his four contests, coming against UC Riverside Sept. 5. The fifth-year senior has appeared in 34 matches in his collegiate career between UCF, Virginia Tech and North Florida, totaling four goals on eight shots on target, accompanied by one assist.
Crivello, like Bubb, enters his second season in Orlando after appearing in nine of the Knights’ 13 matches in 2022. On the heels of his two seasons with Pittsburgh, the Bordeaux, France, native recorded a pair of shot attempts in his 496 minutes throughout his first campaign with UCF. He also served as a key cog in the Knights’ 4-0 shutout victory over Temple Sept. 17.
Rosa represented one of the stingier defensemen in the nation last season, earning a selection to the All-East Region Third Team to accompany his AAC All-Conference First Team and All-Conference Preseason Team honors in his third year in Orlando. He was also one of three Knights honored with an invitation to the 2022 Adidas MLS Showcase, along with Gino Vivi and Lucca Dourado. The senior out of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, started each of UCF’s 13 matches, joining Juanvi Muñoz in playing all 1,170 minutes. Offensively, Rosa tallied a goal for the third straight season to begin his collegiate career and added one assist while taking a total of 14 shot attempts. Rosa has started in every match since becoming a Knight, earning the starting nod in 44 consecutive matches.
Arias made a strong impression in his first season donning the Black and Gold, appearing in nine of the Knights’ 13 matches, totaling 300 minutes, and recording one of his two shot attempts on target. Prior to his debut season in Orlando, the Alajuela, Costa Rica, native contributed to a tournament-winning club in the 2022 UNCAF (Central American Football Union) U-19 Tournament for his home country, and also became the youngest player to make his professional debut in Costa Rica’s second division during his high school tenure.
Calderon has yet to make his UCF debut after taking an injury-related redshirt prior to the season’s commencement. Prior to joining the Knights a year ago, he, like Arias, also aided in pushing his native Costa Rica’s 2022 UNCAF U-19 Tournament club to a title, and he can stake his name to championships with the U-15 Costa Rica National Team as well as Asociacion Deportiva Carmelita, as well.
Ben Dakon, a product of Meitar High School in 2019 in Ganei Tikva, Israel, is a former member of Hapoel Petah Tikva FC, a club that was in the second tier of Israeli professional soccer. Fritschi brings significant international experience to the Knights, meanwhile, playing with the German U-15 National Team and SC Freiburg’s club squad on the U-16 to U-19 levels. He was also a part of the Württemberg Cup-winning TSG Balingen squad in 2023.
Michaelis also brings prior international experience to Orlando, having played in the fourth tier of German soccer, Regionalliga West, as a member of Borussia Mönchengladbach II.