Men's Soccer 2025 Season in ReviewMen's Soccer 2025 Season in Review

Men's Soccer 2025 Season in Review

by Ryan Ladika

ORLANDO – In authoring a historic 2025 fall campaign for the program, the UCF men’s soccer team overcame a slow start to the fall to finish as one of the nation’s hottest squads and bring a conference championship back to Orlando.

On the heels of a 2-5-1 beginning to the season, a stretch mired with near misses and close, one-goal defeats, the group saw the tide begin to turn with its 2-0 shutout victory on the road at South Carolina Oct. 4.

The effort marked the first step in an eventual 9-2-2 mark in the team’s final 13 matches, highlighted by an impressive run through the 2025 Sun Belt Conference tournament that saw the Knights topple two top 25 teams to claim the first Sun Belt title in program history and an automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

SUN BELT TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS

The conference’s fifth seed entering the tournament, head coach Scott Calabrese’s squad saw an uphill battle entering postseason play.

The Sun Belt’s automatic ticket to the dance would require the Knights to win three consecutive games away from their home turf in a seven-day span, a path that would include true road games against the top-seeded Sun Belt regular-season champion No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats and a team against which UCF had yet to even score a goal in three matchups as conference mates in the third-seeded No. 12 Marshall Thundering Herd.

Riding the momentum of a 5-1-2 record in their final eight regular-season contests, the Black and Gold authored a thrilling two-goal comeback victory over fourth-seeded Georgia Southern in the quarterfinal round, a 1-0 comeback win over the Wildcats in the tournament semifinal, and a dominant 3-1 win over the Herd in the championship match.

The tournament championship represented the fifth in program history, as well as UCF’s eighth overall conference championship and its first since 2020-21.

Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors went to junior forward Lilian Ricol, who totaled three goals and a pair of assists throughout the week, and he was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Clarence Awoudor, Claudel N’goubou and Frederic Benedix.

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The team’s 3-2 win over Georgia Southern, a victory that saw the Knights erase a second-half 2-0 Eagles advantage, represented the program’s first multi-goal comeback win since its 3-2 double-overtime win over UConn in the opening round of the American Athletic Conference tournament in Orlando Nov. 8.

Awoudor and Ricol produced scores in the final 45 minutes to tie the affairs at two goals apiece before redshirt sophomore Drew Hansen netted the game-winner off the bench in the 104th minute, finalizing the Knights’ second-round date with the Wildcats.

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Its subsequent clean sheet against Kentucky marked the program’s first win over a top seed in a conference tournament, as well as its first postseason shutout since its 2021 AAC tournament opener, a 6-0 rout of Memphis in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Nov. 10.

The lone save needed by starting netminder Juanvi Muñoz also secured UCF’s fifth clean sheet of the season overall, its highest single-season total since the spring 2021 campaign saw the team record six shutouts.

Responsible for the match’s lone goal was, once again, Hansen off the bench, securing his place as the first Knight to score back-to-back postseason game-winners since Lucca Dourado in 2021.

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The championship match, hosted by the No. 12 Herd in Huntington, West Virginia, saw the Black and Gold command the affairs from start to finish, beginning with Benedix’s first Division I score in the 17th minute.

Ricol netted UCF’s second and third goals, becoming the first Knight since at least 1998 (as far back as NCAA records are available) to register a brace in a conference tournament championship match.

Muñoz produced one of his best showings between the goalposts as well, making a season high seven stops to clinch his second six-save performance of the season, with his first such display also coming against Marshall in Huntington Nov. 4.

THE NCAA TOURNAMENT AT OUR PLACE

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A bonus that accompanied the Knights’ convincing run through the Sun Belt’s best, the program was awarded hosting honors for its first-round NCAA Tournament contest against the 2025 AAC tournament champion Florida Atlantic Owls.

UCF’s 10th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance featured the program’s sixth home tournament match, a contest that hosted a program record crowd of 1,358 to witness a 3-2 Knights win over their in-state rival.

The victory, one that pushed the program's record against Florida foes to 21-8-3 in the Calabrese era, saw UCF edge the Owls in a back-and-forth affair that saw the Knights take an early 2-0 lead before Florida Atlantic battled back with two of the match's next three goals.

Scores by Awoudor and redshirt junior Joey Mueller built their team's multi-goal halftime advantage, and Ricol's 13th goal of the year later served as his fourth game-winner of the season in the 59th minute as the Black and Gold withstood the Owls' late-game rally.

The win also ensured the team a round of 32 berth in all five of the program's NCAA Tournament appearances under Calabrese (since 2017), as well as the seventh round of 32 appearance in program history.

AWOUDOR'S CAREER YEAR

One of the catalysts for the Knights' dominant second half, senior midfielder Clarence Awoudor produced one of the more prolific individual campaigns in the nation throughout the fall slate.

A starter in each of UCF's 21 matches, he set new single-season career bests in goals (7), assists (15), shot attempts (62) and shots on goal (28) en route to earning selections to the United Soccer Coaches Division I All-America Third Team, United Soccer Coaches Division I All-Southeast Region First Team, All-Sun Belt Conference First Team, and Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament Team.

He finished his season ranking among conference leaders in total assists (15, 1st), assists per game (0.71, 1st), total points (29, 3rd), points per game (1.38, 3rd), shot attempts per game (2.95, 3rd), shots on goal per game (1.33, 3rd), shot accuracy (.452, 4th), and total goals (7, T-7th).

His 15 assists co-led the nation and set a new UCF single-season program record, and in scoring seven goals, matched his total from his first two seasons in Orlando combined. For his efforts, Awoudor earned an invitation to participate in the three-day MLS 2025 College Showcase held in Mesa, Arizona.

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The Saint-Lo, France, native recorded at least one point in 14 of the Knights' 21 matches, multiple points in nine contests, and at least three points twice.

He on five occasions recorded multiple assists in a single match, in UCF's tilts against UTRGV (Aug. 24), Jacksonville (Sept. 11), South Carolina (Oct. 4), then-No. 11 Georgia Southern (Oct. 10), and Bradley (Oct. 14), and later netted his first career brace in the Knights' regular-season home finale against Coastal Carolina Oct. 31.

In helping lead the Knights to their Sun Belt Conference tournament title, he was also named to the league's All-Tournament team with a goal and an assist during the week. He scored UCF's first goal of the postseason in the team's eventual 3-2 comeback victory over fourth-seeded Georgia Southern, and also assisted Lilian Ricol's game-winner in the championship match at then-No. 12 Marshall.

Awoudor's second 2025 postseason score opened his team's eventual 3-2 win over Florida Atlantic Nov. 20, and he also assisted Ricol's fourth game-winner of the season in the 59th minute of the match.

RICOL'S INSTANT IMPACT

Junior forward Lilian Ricol represented a key cog in UCF's offensive efforts throughout the 2025 season, serving as one of the most prolific scorers in the nation.

The Paris, France, native appeared in each of UCF's 21 matches, earning 18 starts and totaling 1,510 minutes of action while playing the full 90 minutes on four occasions, including all 104 minutes of UCF's double-overtime Sun Belt quarterfinal matchup against fourth-seeded Georgia Southern.

He represented the Knights' leader in goals scored (13) and points (30), and ranked among Sun Belt Conference leaders in goals scored (2nd), points (2nd), game-winning goals (4, T-2nd), goals per game (0.62, 2nd), points per game (1.43, 2nd), shots on goal per game (1.38, 2nd), shot accuracy (.569, 2nd), and shot attempts per game (2.43, 5th).

One of the Knights' most dominant offensive forces in quite some time, Ricol's 13 goals scored marked the most by a Knight since 2021, his 30 points represented the most by a Knight since 2019, and his four game-winners were the most in a season by a Knight since 2021.

For his efforts, Ricol garnered selections to the United Soccer Coaches Division I All-Southeast Region First Team, All-Sun Belt Conference First Team and Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament Team. He became the first Knight since 2023 to earn a major conference postseason award, garnering Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year recognition, and also earned Sun Belt Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors.

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Ricol notched at least one point in 11 matches throughout the fall, at least two points in 10 matches, and at least three points in four matches.

He netted two of the Knights' four individual multi-goal games, highlighted by his first career hat trick against James Madison Oct. 22 and his brace in the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship match at third-seeded No. 12 Marshall Nov. 16.

The forward caught fire in the midst of Sun Belt Conference play, scoring six goals and adding his second assist of the year in a five-game span from Oct. 10-26, highlighted by his hat trick against the Dukes while also scoring against then-No. 11 Georgia Southern, Bradley and Coastal Carolina.

His Sun Belt Tournament Most Outstanding Player selection came after he was responsible for three goals and a pair of assists during UCF's run to its first championship as a member of the Sun Belt.

He netted the game-tying goal in the 67th minute of the Knights' 3-2 comeback win over fourth-seeded Georgia Southern in the quarterfinal round, and later became the first Knight since at least 1998 to score a brace in a conference tournament championship match to help lead his squad over the 12th-ranked Thundering Herd in Huntington, West Virginia.

Ricol also became the third player in the last three seasons overall to score at least twice in the Sun Belt's championship match, joining West Virginia's Sergio Ors Navarro (2023) and Marshall's Alvaro Garcia-Pascual (2023).

A fitting punctuation to his on-field heroics, Ricol netted his fourth game-winning goal of the year in UCF's NCAA Tournament first-round matchup against Florida Atlantic, a match for which the Knights earned hosting honors thanks to their dominant run through the Sun Belt Conference tournament.

STEADY BETWEEN THE POSTS

Senior goalkeeper Juanvi Muñoz produced arguably the strongest season of his four-year tenure in Orlando as the Knights marched toward their Sun Belt Tournament title, setting single-season career bests in matches started (21), minutes played (1903:06), total saves (60), clean sheets (5) and wins (11).

Donning the jersey number 13 for the first time in honor of his late mother, Muñoz recorded a 1.28 season goals-against average and a .690 save percentage en route to his first career 50-plus-save season.

He completed his college career ranking among all-time program leaders in saves (174, 8th), goals-against average (1.26, 8th), and shutouts (12, 8th), and ranked among Sun Belt Conference leaders in goalkeeper minutes played (1st), total saves (3rd), goals-against average (6th), save percentage (7th), and saves per game (7th).

With aid from his team's defensive efforts in front of him, Muñoz yielded two or fewer goals in 19 of the Knights' 21 total matches and allowed one or fewer goals in 12 contests in addition to his five clean sheets.

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The Valencia, Spain, native made at least four saves on seven different occasions, highlighted by his dominant seven-save performance against the No. 12 Marshall Thundering Herd to help clinch his program's first Sun Belt Conference tournament championship.

His second six-save performance this fall also came in Huntington, West Virginia, against the Herd in UCF's regular-season finale.

Muñoz needed just one save to help clinch UCF's historic Sun Belt Conference tournament semifinal 1-0 shutout win over top-seeded No. 19 Kentucky, securing the Knights' first win over a No. 1 seed in a conference tournament in program history, as well as the program's first postseason clean sheet since and first postseason win over a ranked opponent since the 2021 season.

He needed only two saves to help lead the Black and Gold over then-No. 11 Georgia Southern Oct. 10, helping clinch the Knights' first shutout against a ranked opponent since 2021.

Of UCF's 10 matches against teams ranked within the United Soccer Coaches' top 25 polls, Muñoz allowed two or fewer goals in eight, highlighted by the team's conference tournament shutout of Kentucky and its 3-0 clean sheet win over then-No. 11 Georgia Southern.

MUELLER IS LEAGUE-BOUND

MS_Tanner Pavlosky_4207_112025_1933448500Joey Mueller | Photo by: Tanner Pavlosky

Knights redshirt junior Joey Mueller saw his path to continue his post-collegiate soccer career become a bit clearer with his selection by New York City FC with the 71st pick of the MLS SuperDraft 2026.

He became the Knights' first selection in the MLS SuperDraft since former UCF standout defender Anderson Rosa was taken with the 14th pick of the secodn round in the MLS SuperDraft 2024 by the Colorado Rapids, and now represents the 14th player in program history to be selected in the MLS SuperDraft.

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The St. John's County, Florida, native enjoyed the best season of his collegiate tenure in 2025, appearing in each of UCF's 21 matches, including 18 starts, totaling 1,320 minutes on the pitch while playing the full 90 minutes on eight occasions.

He played the full 90 minutes in each of UCF's final four postseason contests this fall, tilts that include UCF's 1-0 clean sheet win over top-seeded No. 19 Kentucky in the Sun Belt Conference tournament semifinal, the Knights' 3-1 win over third-seeded No. 12 Marshall to claim the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship, and the Black and Gold's two NCAA Tournament matchups against Florida Atlantic and seventh-seeded No. 15 Georgetown.

He set single-season career bests in goals scored (2), assists (3), shot attempts (25), and shots on goal (10), with both of his two scores coming in key matchups for his team. He first found the back of the net in the 20th minute of UCF's domoinant 3-0 win over then-No. 11 Georgia Southern Oct. 10, and later added a crucial second goal in helping lead his team to its NCAA Tournament first round 3-2 victory over the Owls in Orlando Nov. 20.