ORLANDO – The UCF men’s soccer team withstood perhaps its toughest challenge to date Friday evening, playing to a 2-2 draw against the then-No. 4 West Virginia Mountaineers in a contest that represented the first top-five matchup in program history.
As the Knights (4-0-2, 0-0-1 SBC) enter their second conference match of the season this weekend still unbeaten, the team saw its national ranking rise once again in all three major polls, most notably earning the No. 3 slot in the country from to the United Soccer Coaches poll. Top Drawer Soccer and College Soccer News both slotted UCF in at No. 4 in the nation as well.
UCF’s No. 3 spot represents the highest national ranking in program history according to the United Soccer Coaches poll, surpassing the No. 5 placing the team earned in both last week’s rankings as well as Nov. 12, 2019.
The Knights saw their upcoming weekend opponent, the Marshall Thundering Herd (7-0-0, 1-0-0 SBC), also climb in this week’s rankings to the No. 1 program in the country, thanks in part to then-No. 1 Stanford’s loss to Oregon State Sunday.
The weekend matchup will represent just the second time UCF has squared off against the top-ranked team in the nation, after the Knights’ played to a 2-2 draw against then-No. 1 SMU Oct. 14, 2016, as well as the second top five matchup in program history following UCF's draw against the Mountaineers Sept. 15.
Joining Marshall in representation of the Knights' 2023 opponents in the latest rankings are West Virginia (No. 2) and James Madison (No. 12), with Clemson (5) and Florida International (2) both receiving votes.
COMPLETE UNITED SOCCER COACHES WEEK FOUR POLL
| RANK | SCHOOL | PREVIOUS | FIRST-PLACE VOTES | TOTAL POINTS | W-L-T |
| 1 | Marshall * | 2 | 7 | 198 | 7-0-0 |
| 2 | West Virginia * | 4 | 0 | 190 | 5-0-1 |
| 3 | UCF | T-5 | 0 | 180 | 4-0-2 |
| 4 | Akron | 3 | 0 | 171 | 5-0-2 |
| 5 | Portland | 11 | 0 | 165 | 4-1-0 |
| 6 | Southern Methodist | 16 | 1 | 162 | 6-1-0 |
| 7 | Syracuse | 7 | 0 | 155 | 3-0-3 |
| 8 | Stanford | 1 | 0 | 148 | 4-1-1 |
| 9 | Missouri State | 15 | 0 | 127 | 4-0-1 |
| 10 | Louisville | T-5 | 0 | 122 | 4-1-1 |
| 11 | Duke | 8 | 0 | 119 | 4-1-1 |
| 12 | James Madison * | 9 | 0 | 107 | 4-1-2 |
| 13 | Northwestern | 19 | 0 | 97 | 6-0-1 |
| 14 | Wake Forest | 20 | 0 | 89 | 3-1-3 |
| 15 | Notre Dame | 10 | 0 | 86 | 4-1-2 |
| 16 | Georgetown | RV | 0 | 83 | 3-1-1 |
| 17 | Vermont | 12 | 0 | 79 | 4-1-1 |
| 18 | New Hampshire | 21 | 0 | 63 | 4-1-1 |
| 19 | Denver | 14 | 0 | 56 | 4-1-3 |
| 20 | Washington | NR | 0 | 45 | 3-1-3 |
| 21 | San Diego State | 18 | 0 | 42 | 5-0-1 |
| 22 | Michigan State | RV | 0 | 36 | 4-0-2 |
| 23 | Marquette | 13 | 0 | 16 | 6-1-0 |
| 24 | Hofstra | NR | 0 | 13 | 4-1-2 |
| 25 | UIC | NR | 0 | 11 | 5-1-1 |
Receiving Votes: Bryant (9), Virginia (7), Fordham (6), Oral Roberts (5), Clemson (5) * , Pittsburgh (4), Florida International (2) * , Penn State (2)
* Denotes UCF 2023 Opponent
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