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No. 19 Men's Soccer 2024 Positional Previews: Forwards and Midfielders

by Ryan Ladika

ORLANDO – The No. 19 UCF men’s soccer team’s attacking corps enjoyed a productive first season within the Sun Belt Conference in 2023, and with a strong majority of the group returning to Orlando for the fall 2024 slate, the team looks to build upon its offensive exploits that, last season, were ranked among the top programs in the nation.

Though the team will enter the new season without the reigning conference Freshman of the Year in Saku Heiskanen, who signed on to play professionally in his native Finland shortly after last season’s conclusion, the Black and Gold return 11 players from its pool of forwards and midfielders, joined by a trio of promising newcomers.

The Knights last season averaged just over two goals per game and suffered a shutout loss just once in their 16 matches. The squad’s 33 total goals, good for fourth-most in the conference, translated to an average of 2.06 per game, a mark that ranked second most in the Sun Belt and 15th nationally. UCF also established itself among the best in the country in keeping constant pressure on the offensive end, as the team finished within the top three in the Sun Belt in shot attempts per game (14.31, 2nd SBC, 25th NCAA) and shots on goal per game (5.94, 3rd SBC, 37th NCAA).

FORWARDS

Lucca Dourado remains in Orlando for his fifth season donning the Black and Gold this fall and represents the Knights’ leader among forwards and midfielders in returning experience. Dourado is joined in the forward group by senior Emmanuel Bam, junior Clarence Awoudor, sophomore Mouhamed Pouye, redshirt sophomore Joey Mueller, redshirt freshmen Malang Mandiang and Drew Hansen, and incoming freshman Carlos Rojas.

Dourado, like defender Anderson Rosa, represents a key leadership figure and looks to help his team make a lasting impact in his final collegiate campaign. In representing the Knights’ leading scorer a season ago, the São Paulo, Brazil, native garnered selections to the United Soccer Coaches’ All-Southeast Region First Team and the Sun Belt’s All-Conference First Team.

Dourado netted a team-leading nine goals and added three assists to compile 21 total points in 2023, marking his third straight season to hit both benchmarks. His three helpers also marked a single-season career best, and the forward set season highs in shot attempts (56) and shots on goal (22) as well, while also scoring a pair of penalty kick goals for the second straight season.

The fifth year senior in 2023 continued climbing the ranks of the all-time greats in program history, becoming the seventh Knight to score at least 30 career goals and finishing the season in seventh place on the all-time career points list (80), and sixth on the all-time career goals scored list (37).

Awoudor prepares for his second slate with the Knights after transferring from Oregon State, and looks to build upon a debut season in Orlando that saw him earn Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year honors in 2023. The Saint-Lo, France, native appeared in a season-high 16 matches last year, and set season-best marks in a myriad of categories, including goals scored (4), assists (4), shot attempts (27), shots on goal (14) and game-winning goals (2).

His first two goals as a Knight both represented game-winners, with the first coming against Stetson Aug. 27, and the second against Coastal Carolina Oct. 18.

Bam, like Awoudor, enjoyed a breakout second collegiate season in 2023, helping anchor the Knights’ offensive attack throughout the campaign with a season-high 16 appearances, including seven starts.

He scored the first four goals of his career last year, highlighted by the first of his career that served as the game-winner in UCF’s 2-1 season-opening victory at then-No. 9 Clemson Aug. 24. In doing so, the senior became the first Knight since Kevin Andrews (Oct. 9, 2022) to have his first career goal also represent a game-winner.

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In addition to increasing primary offensive production, Bam also notched a season-high four assists and added season highs in shot attempts (20) and shots on goal (9).

Mueller, after taking a redshirt during his first year on campus in 2022, made four appearances in 2023, totaling 28 minutes of action. He saw gametime in the Knights’ 1-0 win at Kentucky Sept. 29, the squad’s 5-0 victory over Coastal Carolina Oct. 18, the team’s regular-season finale against James Madison Oct. 31, and UCF’s NCAA Tournament matchup against Vermont Nov. 19.

Pouye saw action in two matches during his freshman 2023 season, playing in 30 minutes between the Knights’ road win at Kentucky and home victory over Coastal Carolina, while Hansen and Mandiang both took a redshirt last year, with neither seeing gametime on the pitch.

Rojas, the Knights’ incoming freshman forward, remains in his hometown Orlando to being his collegiate career. In his final high school season at Lake Nona High School, he netter 12 goals and added three assists in his 10 matches, and was awarded ‘Man of the Match’ honors four times.

With Lake Nona, he and his squad were ECNL Florida Conference winners in each of the last three seasons, (2023-24, 2022-23, 2021-22), and he also represented the top goal-scorer during the 2023-24 campaign for the Florida Kraze Krush soccer club (FKK), as well as the leading scorer for the Orlando City Academy in the regular season and playoffs during the 2020-21 slate.

MIDFIELDERS

Yanis Belatrache, despite having just one year of Division I collegiate soccer under his belt, represents the most experienced midfielder on the Knights’ 2024 roster. The sophomore made an immediate impact during his debut 2023 season, totaling 1116 minutes between UCF’s 16 total matches, including 14 starts.

The Herblay sur Seine, France, native tallied five points on the strength of two goals and one assist last season, beginning with his primary assist on Bam’s game-winning goal at then-No. 9 Clemson Aug. 24. He proceeded to score in back-to-back contests against Coastal Carolina and South Carolina Oct. 18-22, and racked up a total of 17 shot attempts throughout the year, including seven on goal.

Joining Belatrache in the midfield are senior Ousmane Ba and sophomores Fabio Guerreiro and Itai Levisman, as well as newcomers Javier López Sánchez and Sora Funakoshi.

Ba and Guerreiro both made two appearances during the 2023 season, totaling 19 and nine minutes of action, respectively, while Levisman did not see match action during the year.

Sánchez, meanwhile, joins the Knights after earning experience with a pair of clubs in his native Spain, Real Murcia and UCAM Murcia. He won a pair of league titles with the U15 and U17 Murcia squads before making his debut with Real Murcia in 2023.

Funakoshi joins the Knights after spending two seasons at Cowley College in Arkansas City, Kansas. As a Tiger, he appeared in 37 matches, including 29 starts, and scored 17 goals while adding 14 assists. He notched his first season with double-digit goals in 2023, netting 12 and adding 11 assists en route to an NJCAA Division I First Team All-American selection as a sophomore.

With Funakoshi’s help, Cowley College advanced as far as the 2023 NJCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship pool play in the opening round, winning three of their four matches and drawing with the eventual national champion Monroe College, 2-2.

UP NEXT

The Knights prepare for their final tuneup prior to the commencement of the 2024 regular season, when the squad will host the Stetson Hatters at the UCF Soccer Complex in preseason exhibition action Aug. 15. The Black and Gold will then welcome the Mercer Bears to Orlando for the team’s season-opener Aug. 22, immediately following UCF women’s soccer’s home-opener against Utah Valley.

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