No. 1 Men's Soccer to Visit Georgia State

ORLANDO – An owner of the first No. 1 national ranking in UCF athletics history and the longest active win streak in the Sun Belt, the No. 1 UCF men’s soccer team is set to wrap up its 2023 regular-season road slate with a Friday night contest against Georgia State at the GSU Soccer Complex in Atlanta, Georgia.

UCF (9-1-2, 5-1-1 SBC) clinched the top spot in the latest United Soccer Coaches week nine poll released Tuesday afternoon, garnering seven of eight first-place votes after spending the previous three weeks as the No. 2 team in the organization’s rankings.

The then-No. 1 Marshall Thundering Herd dropped two straight in the last week to then-No. 5 West Virginia and Kentucky, paving the way for the Knights to lock up the top spot for the first time in program history. Marshall fell to the No. 6 spot in the United Soccer Coaches’ latest poll, and West Virginia jumped to No. 2, earning one first-place vote.

The Knights most recently edged the South Carolina Gamecocks by a 3-2 decision on the road Sunday evening, marking the team’s fifth straight win and ninth of the fall campaign. The one-goal victory, coupled with Marshall’s second consecutive loss Sunday, vaulted the Knights over the Herd and West Virginia and into first place in the Sun Belt table with a conference-best 16 points with two matches remaining in the regular season. Marshall and West Virginia enter the upcoming weekend’s action hot on UCF’s heels, with both currently one point behind with 15.

For the first 75 minutes of the Knights’ Sunday evening tilt, UCF followed largely the same blueprint that led to its convincing 5-0 victory over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Oct. 18. The Knights cracked the scoreboard once in the first half, thanks to a 39th minute Yanis Belatrache goal, marking the freshman’s second collegiate goal and second score in as many matches.

In the minutes following the whistle that commenced the second half, UCF added on with two more quick scores by veteran forward Lucca Dourado and defender Anderson Rosa, separated by only 83 seconds of gametime.

Dourado’s goal, his ninth of the season and 37th of his career, clinched sole possession of seventh place on the UCF all-time points list with his 79th, passing Nik Robson’s (2009-11) career total of 77 after tying Robson with his assist on Belatrache’s score.

The Knights overcame one of their biggest tests of the season in the final 15 minutes of Sunday’s contest, when starting netminder Juanvi Muñoz was shown a red card after appearing to make contact with Gamecocks forward Adam Luckhurst. The goalkeeper was ejected from the match, leaving redshirt freshman Luciano Natoli to see the Knights through in the aftermath in just his second collegiate appearance.

As a result of Muñoz’s red card, he will be ineligible for participation in the Knights’ Friday evening matchup at Georgia State, leaving Natoli in line for his first career start. In addition to the 15:38 he played Sunday night, Natoli also appeared in the waning minutes of UCF’s five-goal win over the Chants, recording four minutes and 53 seconds of time between the goalposts in relief of Muñoz.

Against South Carolina, the Knights scored three or more goals for the second straight match after doing so just once in their first 10 games, boosting UCF’s scoring offense to 2.17 goals per game, a mark that ranks second-best in the Sun Belt and 14th in the nation.

The team also allowed two goals in a match for just the third time in its first 12 matches thus far and still ranks as one of the better defensive squads in the nation, boasting a team goals-against average of .917 (2nd-best in the Sun Belt, 33rd in the nation), a .761 save percentage (2nd, 48th) and a .333 shutout percentage (3rd, 56th).

The Knights on Friday will meet a Georgia State squad that owns a 5-5-5 record through 15 matches, including a 2-3-2 mark in conference play. The Knights own a lifetime 7-3-0 record in 10 meetings against the Panthers, who are searching for their first win since Oct. 13 after going 0-1-1 in their last two contests against Kentucky and James Madison.

Georgia State boasts a trio of Panthers to have recorded double-digit points thus far, led by midfielder Simon Carlson’s 13 points. The senior has netted a team-leading six goals and added one assist in his first 15 matches, including a two-goal evening against Mercer Oct. 4. Junior forward Ethan Sassine (five goals, 10 points) and sophomore midfielder Justin McLean (three goals, two assists, 10 points) represent the Panthers’ remaining double-digit scorers.

Between the goalposts, Georgia State has largely utilized senior netminder Josh Hangi, who has accounted for 1334:20 of the Panthers’ total 1,350 minutes played, representing the second-most minutes played of any goalkeeper in the Sun Belt to this point. Hangi has made 54 total saves thus far, a mark that ranks second-most in the conference and 30th in the nation, and his 3.60 saves per game rank fourth-most in the Sun Belt.

Kickoff for the Knights’ Friday night tilt is slated for 7 p.m. from the GSU Soccer Complex in Atlanta, Georgia, and will be streamed on ESPN+.