ORLANDO – On the heels of an unbeaten October showing, the UCF men’s soccer team is set to conclude its 2025 regular season with a road matchup against the No. 11 Marshall Thundering Herd Tuesday evening.
The Knights’ clash with the Herd in Huntington represents the teams’ final tune-up prior to the commencement of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament Nov. 9, with both teams still competing for their playoff positioning.
UCF enters the match sitting comfortably in fifth place in the Sun Belt table with 14 points on the strength of a 4-2-2 record in league play thus far. With a win at Marshall Tuesday and some help from Georgia State, fourth-place Georgia Southern’s Tuesday opponent, the Knights can still finish as high as third in the standings.
The Black and Gold enter their Tuesday tilt at Marshall boasting an undefeated 5-0-2 record in their last seven games, a remarkable turnaround for the squad after it started 2-5-1 through its first eight matches.
The Knights did not suffer a losing result throughout the entire month of October, clinching the first full unbeaten calendar month for the program since October 2019. The program has historically performed well in the month of October under head coach Scott Calabrese as well, producing an all-time 32-11-5 October record since 2017.
Their latest result, a 3-1 victory over Coastal Carolina in the squad’s home finale Oct. 31, saw leading scorer Clarence Awoudor net his first career brace and senior forward Claudel N’goubou tally his first UCF game-winning goal.
Awoudor, the national assist leader entering play Tuesday evening, recorded his first career multi-goal game with scores in the 19th and 74th minutes, while N’goubou’s 31st minute goal served as the difference.
In addition to his NCAA Division I soccer-leading 13 assists, he pushed his goal total to five, a new single-season career best, and saw his team-best point total climb to 23 through 15 matches, good for second most in the Sun Belt only to West Virginia’s Marcus Caldeira (25).
Awoudor also enters Tuesday evening’s match ranking among Sun Belt Conference leaders in shots on goal per game (1.53, T-2nd), shot attempts per game (3.07, 2nd), and shot accuracy (.500, 4th).
When they meet the Herd Tuesday, the Knights will look to build upon a 7-5-1 lead in the all-time series between the programs, though Marshall has twice edged UCF since the Black and Gold joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2023.
Marshall, the 2023 Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament champion, last season advanced as far as the 2024 College Cup National Championship match before falling to Vermont by a slim 2-1 margin.
The Herd this season have produced another dominant campaign, rising as high as No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason, week one and week two top 25 polls. Though it was most recently stifled by No. 19 West Virginia, 3-0, Oct. 31, Marshall has produced unbeaten results against then-No. 12 Virginia Tech (T, 2-2), then-No. 12 High Point (T, 2-2), and 2025 Sun Belt regular-season champion Kentucky, then ranked No. 19 (W, 4-1).
Kickoff is set for 7:15 p.m. from Hoops Family Field in Huntington, West Virginia, 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.