With his first two goals Friday, Rojas joined redshirt freshman Drew Hansen and junior Sora Funakoshi in finding the back of the net for the first time in their respective Division I careers this fall. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Shane Wright also made his first save of his collegiate career against Wake Forest Aug. 31 before making a trio of saves against UC Irvine Friday.
Following UCF’s 3-1 win over UC Irvine, the Black and Gold moved up once again in the United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll, settling at No. 10 in the week three rankings. With Emmanuel Bam, Clarence Awoudor, and Carlos Rojas each scoring 2 goals so far this season, the Knights are climbing up in the rankings.
Sophomore Yanis Belatrache also had a first on Friday with his first career game-winning goal against the Anteaters. In the 48th minute, Belatrache had a right kick to the low center, with an assist from Joey Mueller, pulling the Knights ahead 2-0. In his two-season career, Yanis has a total of three goals and two assists with nine shots on goal.
UCF and FIU are no strangers to each other, having a matchup almost every season since 2001. In recent years, the Knights and the Panthers have traded wins, losses, and ties with a draw of 2-2 in 2023 and a Black and Gold win in 2022.
Last season, the then-No. 6 Knights and the then-No. 11 Panthers faced off in a competitive match that ended in a 2-2 draw on Sept. 5. Lucca Dourado scored the first goal of the game at 15 minutes, with an assist from Emmanuel Bam, pulling UCF ahead 1-0. Currently, UCF has a record of 4-4-2 against the Panthers over their last 10 matches between 2011-2023.
Fifth-year Lucca Dourado could be joining an exclusive club of UCF soccer legends as he is just shy of 40 career goals. This would allow him to join the legacy of former UCF players, Heikki Ritvanen (1996-99), Randy DeShield (1976-79), Ari Nurmi (1996-99), and Cal Jennings (2016-19). Dourado currently sits at 38 career goals.
This season, the 0-3-1 Panthers had a 1-0 loss in their home-opener against Stetson Aug. 26, but the team held onto the ball tightly with 17 shots total and eight on goal. In their game against the North Carolina Tarheels, the Panthers led 1-0 in the 15th minute but ultimately allowed three goals.
Most recently, the Panthers played the Georgetown Bulldogs, drawing 0-0. FIU had a tight and aggressive defense with sophomore goalkeeper Nigel Van Haveren making nine pivotal saves. On August 26, Van Haveren was named the AAC Goalkeeper of the week due to his 7.25 saves per game. This leaves Nigel Van Haveren in the No. 1 spot in the nation in saves per game. His nine saves against the Bulldogs pushed him to rank tied for 10th-most saves in a single game by any Division I goalkeeper in the nation as well.
FIU returns from a four-game road trip to host the No. 17 Knights in the team’s first home game of the season.
Kickoff for the match is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Leyva Family Field at FIU Soccer Stadium Wednesday evening and will be streamed on ESPN+.
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