ORLANDO – With the 2025 regular season complete, the UCF men’s soccer team is set for its postseason opener, a first-round Sun Belt Conference Tournament matchup with fourth-seeded Georgia Southern at Kentucky’s Bell Soccer Complex Sunday evening.
The Knights clinched the No. 5 seed in the tournament by virtue of the team’s fifth-place finish in the Sun Belt table this fall, producing a 7-6-3 overall record accompanied by a 4-3-2 mark within league play.
Each of UCF’s 14 points in the table came during the squad’s unbeaten month of October, a period that saw the group produce a dominant 5-0-2 record in seven matches, including conference wins over South Carolina, then-No. 11 Georgia Southern, James Madison and Coastal Carolina.
The Black and Gold’s strong October showing further bolstered a winning trend in the month throughout head coach Scott Calabrese’s tenure, as the program improved to 32-11-5 in October since the beginning of 2017. UCF also produced its first full unbeaten calendar month since the 2019 Knights went 5-0-1 in October after recording a 6-0-1 showing in September.
UCF this season was led by four members who received post-season All-Sun Belt Conference recognition, in junior forward Lilian Ricol, senior midfielder Clarence Awoudor, freshman defender Jem Hewlett and freshman forward Seiryu Ono.
Ricol became the second Knight in three seasons to garner the Sun Belt’s Conference Newcomer of the Year award, after leading the Black and Gold in goals scored (9) and finishing second on the team in total points (20).
Six of his nine goals came during conference play, highlighted by his first career hat trick against James Madison Oct. 22, and he completed the regular season ranking among conference leaders in total goals (T-2nd) and total points (2nd).
Ricol was joined on the All-Sun Belt First Team by Awoudor, who set single-season career-bests in goals scored (5) and assists (13). His 13 helpers also set the program’s single season record and represented the top mark in NCAA Division I soccer this fall.
The addition of Hewlett and Ono to the All-Freshman Team pushed the Knights’ total number of post-season Sun Belt All-Conference honorees to 12 within the program’s first three seasons in the league, and the Black and Gold have also seen at least two players recognized by fellow coaching staffs in each of the last three years.
Ricol, Awoudor, Hewlett and Ono will lead their squad into a first-round rematch with the Eagles Sunday evening after the Knights took the teams’ regular-season meeting by a convincing 3-0 final score in Orlando Oct. 10.
Ricol, Claudel N’goubou and Joey Mueller were responsible for UCF’s three goals in the contest, with Ricol tallying his first career game-winning goal in the sixth minute of action and Mueller netting his first score of the season in the 20th minute.
Senior netminder Juanvi Muñoz made a pair of saves in the match to keep Georgia Southern scoreless as well, clinching the program’s first clean sheet against a ranked opponent since the Black and Gold’s 2-0 win over then-No. 9 SMU Marsh 13, 2021.
Georgia Southern’s five total shot attempts in the match also marked the fewest allowed by UCF against a ranked foe since the program held then-No. 4 Wake Forest to just five attempts Aug. 30, 2019.
The Eagles would go on to secure their fourth-place finish and the No. 4 conference tournament seed with an overall 13-3-1 record this year, including a 6-1-1 mark in Sun Belt Conference play. Georgia Southern this season earned at least 13 wins for the first time since the program went 14-4-2 in 1997, and it tallied a double-digit win campaign for the first time since its 10-win 2006 slate.
Led by five All-Sun Belt Conference selections, including Defensive Player of the Year Noah Holmstrom and Freshman of the Year Emil Seedorff, the Eagles earned conference wins over then-No. 4 Marshall, Old Dominion, Coastal Carolina, James Madison, South Carolina, and Georgia State. Their 2-1 victory over the Thundering Herd Sept. 28 marked the second ranked win in program history, and the first against an opponent ranked within the top 10.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from the Bell Soccer Complex in Lexington, Kentucky, 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.