ORLANDO – Riding the momentum of a six-match unbeaten streak, the UCF men’s soccer team will take its home pitch for the final time in the 2025 regular season Friday evening against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
The Knights, undefeated in each of their six October contests against South Carolina, then-No. 11 Georgia Southern, Bradley, Old Dominion, James Madison and Georgia State, enter the regular season’s penultimate contest in fifth place in the Sun Belt table with two matches to play. If the current standings were to remain, UCF would clash with the fourth-seeded Eagles once again in the first round of the 2025 Men’s Soccer Sun Belt Conference Championship Nov. 9 in Lexington, Kentucky.
Their October efforts, a 4-0-2 showing overall accompanied by a 3-0-2 mark in Sun Belt play, have seen the squad collect 11 points in the conference standings to rise back above .500 on the season overall, at 6-5-3, after beginning the year 2-5-1 through eight games.
The Black and Gold have also continued to improve upon historically strong play in the month of October under head coach Scott Calabrese, as the group boasts an all-time 31-11-5 October record since the beginning of the 2017 season.
The team returns home on the heels of a 1-1 draw on the road with Georgia State Oct. 26, a result that helped keep the Knights above the sixth-place Panthers in the league standings.
Through a winning result eluded the squad in Atlanta, UCF battled back from a late one-goal second-half deficit to remain unbeaten since Oct. 4. Veteran goalkeeper Juanvi Muñoz made a trio of first-half saves and went 3-for-4 on the afternoon overall, while junior forward Lilian Ricol scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season to knot the affairs at one in the 71st minute.
Ricol’s latest tally represented his fourth in his last two games after he netted his first career hat trick against James Madison Oct. 22, and pushed him one point ahead of teammate Clarence Awoudor for the team lead in the category (20).
The Paris, France, native enters Friday evening’s action as the Sun Belt’s second-leading scorer in total goals (9) and third in total points (20), and ranks among conference leaders in goals per game (0.64, 2nd), points per game (1.43, 2nd), shots on goal per game (1.43, 2nd), and shot attempts per game (2.43, 5th).
Awoudor also further bolstered his nation-leading assist total, notching his 13th of the season to remain atop NCAA Division I soccer in total assists and assists per game (0.93). The third-year Knight this fall has already set single-season career bests in assists, total points (19), shot attempts (40), and shots on goal (18) as well.
The Saint-Lo, France, native’s 13 assists mark the most by a player in a single season in UCF’s program history since at least 1998, as far back as NCAA statistics are available.
Muñoz, meanwhile, recorded his ninth showing of the season with one or fewer goals allowed through his first 14 starts, seeing his season goals-against average drop to 1.21 while his save percentage climbed back above .700 on the season.
When they meet the Chanticleers Friday, the Knights will look to improve upon a 4-2 all-time record against Coastal Carolina, including a 2-0 mark since UCF joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2023.
UCF bested the Chants by a convincing 5-0 final score the last time it hosted Coastal Oct. 18, 2023, and the Knights last season earned a dramatic last-minute victory on the strength of Lucca Dourado’s 89th-minute score in the regular-season finale in Conway, South Carolina Nov. 5, 2024.
The Chanticleers enter Friday’s action just inside the Sun Belt Conference postseason picture, currently in eighth place with six points in the table after starting 2-5-0 in league play.
The team does bring momentum to Orlando, though, as two of its three wins on the season overall have come in both of their last two outings against Georgia State (3-1, Oct. 22) and South Carolina (3-1, Oct. 26).
The team’s leading goal-scorer, Angel Lopez Martin, accounted for three of their six goals in that span, while goalkeeper Harrison Gough made a combined nine saves on 11 shots on goal-against between the two wins.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from the UCF Soccer Complex and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.