ORLANDO – As he and his team huddled together in the moments following the program’s 11th win of the 2025 campaign, head coach Scott Calabrese noted that this time of year, the ‘how’ doesn’t matter all that much.
“The mantra in the postseason is ‘survive and advance,’” he said.
In front of a record crowd of 1,358 at the UCF Soccer Complex, the UCF men’s soccer squad survived and advanced, weathering a late Owls comeback attempt to clinch a 3-2 victory in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament Thursday evening.
With their latest win, the Knights move on to a second-round matchup with No. 15 Georgetown, the No. 7 national seed in this year’s tournament field, Sunday evening in Washington D.C.
“I’m so proud of these guys. That team that we played, they are a heck of a team. They won 13 games and a championship this year, and we had to be at our absolute best. It took us a little bit of time to get into the game and get our confidence. Once we got the first goal, our confidence changed a bit, and we found our rhythm on both sides of the ball.”
The victory, UCF’s fourth straight dating back to its Sun Belt Conference tournament-opening win over fourth-seeded Georgia Southern Nov. 9, also pushed the squad’s recent hot stretch to 9-1-2 in its last 12 games.
The Knights clinched their first victory in the NCAA Tournament since program toppled then-No. 17 James Madison, 2-1, in Wilson, North Carolina, in the round of 32 of the 2020 tournament pushed to the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Black and Gold Thursday night also secured their first home NCAA Tournament win since the team, then seeded No. 9 nationally, earned a 2-1 overtime triumph over then-No. 12 Missouri State, 2-1, Nov. 24.
They did it on the strength of a trio of goals by Clarence Awoudor, Lilian Ricol and Joey Mueller, yet another prolific offensive display that represented UCF’s second straight match with at least three goals scored, its third such showing in its last four matches, and its eighth such contest of the season. UCF’s eight contests with at least three goals scored mark the most such efforts since the 2021 Knights scored at least three times on nine different occasions.
“I definitely felt it,” Mueller said of the evening’s atmosphere. “To look to my left in the first half and see the whole stands packed was a great feeling. To hear everyone erupt with our first goal, I loved it.”
A member of the Sun Belt’s 2025 All-Conference First Team and the national assist leader entering the evening’s affairs, senior Clarence Awoudor gave the Knights faithful an early jolt with the match’s first score of the evening in the 15th minute.
Teammate Malick Thiaw gave a quick feed to Awoudor just outside the 18-yard box, and the latter on his first touch of the sequence sent a quick strike past the Owls keeper to lift the Knights to an early 1-0 advantage.
“We know we have good players on the attack,” Awoudor said. “We’ve been figuring it out all season long. Malick knew the path I was going to take, he passed me the ball, and I just got a good shot off.”
Mueller quickly doubled his team’s advantage with a highlight-reel score, receiving a pass from Claudel N’goubou halfway into his team’s attacking end, and after dribbling a few more paces in, scored in the upper left corner of the goalmouth from outside the 18-yard box.
“Open space, don’t let me get up at the top of the box, because I’ve been working on that one in training,” Mueller said with a smile. “It was a great feeling.”
Ricol, already the Sun Belt Conference’s leading goal-scorer entering the evening, netted his 13th of the season just before the 60-minute mark, taking a one-touch pass from Mueller amid a trio of Owl defenders. The French forward needed just a single touch of his own to see the ball past a crashing goalkeeper, and Florida Atlantic’s defenders could only watch as the ball continued to roll in.
The winning effort also ensured UCF would remain unbeaten against Florida foes this season, improving to 2-0-1 in matches against the Owls, then-No. 22 South Florida and Jacksonville. The Knights have now won six of their last seven contests against in-state opponents, and moved to 21-8-3 in such matchups under Calabrese.
Senior goalkeeper Juanvi Muñoz also made a pair of saves on the evening, including a key stop with just over two minutes to play with an outstretched arm that pushed a Florida Atlantic shot just off the goalpost.
“Playing difficult teams in our last few matchups helped prepare us for tonight,” Calabrese continued. “You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. That was uncomfortable for large periods of that game. That is a really good thing when you play the level of opponent that we’ve played throughout the season, you get into a game like that, it’s not something you’re not accustomed to.”
UP NEXT
The Knights advance to a second-round road matchup with No. 15 Georgetown Sunday evening. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. from Shaw Field 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.