ORLANDO – The No. 21 UCF men’s soccer team has shown resilience through its first two tests of the 2024 fall campaign, entering the program’s Saturday matchup against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons unbeaten.
A stifling defensive effort, coupled with a first for one of the Knights’ youngest forwards, aided the team in earning a 1-1 draw with the then-No. 23 Seattle Redhawks in the Black and Gold’s most recent contest Aug 25.
The matchup against Seattle stakes the Knights unbeaten in four of their last five matches against ranked opponents since the beginning of the 2023 season. In the previous matches, the Knights held then-No. 4 West Virginia and then-No. 11 FIU to respective 2-2 draws. The Black and Gold also earned a ranked win during their 2023 season-opener against then-No. 9 Clemson, 2-1.
The Knights secured the draw against Seattle after forward Drew Hansen scored his first collegiate goal to give UCF a 1-0 lead in the 44th minute of the game, and later a critical penalty kick save by junior goalkeeper Juanvi Muñoz in the 79th minute aided the team in staving off a second-half Redhawks comeback bid.
Juanvi’s massive PK save last night deserves another look 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/5EloQUaqul
— UCF Men's Soccer (@UCF_MSoccer) August 26, 2024
Hansen is a redshirt freshman who stepped on the pitch for the first time in his collegiate career against Mercer for the first game of the 2024 season. He had two shots during the Seattle game with one reaching the back of the net for his first collegiate goal.
The Knights have seen a recent pattern with players scoring their first collegiate goal against ranked opponents as well. Emmanuel Bam and Saku Heiskanen both scored their first collegiate goals on the road against Clemson last season as well. The pattern continues with the redshirt freshman Drew Hansen scoring his first against the Redhawks.
Just in time 😉 pic.twitter.com/8B90SFX72c
— UCF Men's Soccer (@UCF_MSoccer) August 25, 2024
The Black and Gold have tallied four goals with four different players finding the back of the net through their first two games. Fifth year forward Lucca Dourado led the charge with the first goal of the season against Mercer, followed by senior forward Emmanuel Bam and junior forward Clarence Awoudor also scoring against the Bears.
Emmanuel Bam and Clarence Awoudor are the team’s leading scorers thus far each with one goal and one assist, equating to a team-best three points, respectively. Javier López Sánchez recently earned his first assist in his collegiate debut by providing a key pass from just inside midfield to Drew Hansen as well.
Juanvi Muñoz, on the other end, protected his keep with four saves against the Redhawks' push Sunday evening. His crucial penalty kick save in the 79th minute marked his 100th save in his collegiate career as well.