ORLANDO – One of the UCF men’s soccer team’s most prolific contributors on the offensive end of the pitch throughout the 2025 campaign, former forward Lilian Ricol has joined the professional ranks.
The Paris, France, native joins his UCF teammate Clarence Awoudor with USL League One’s Fort Wayne FC after appearing in each of UCF’s 21 matches throughout the year.
Ricol, a United Soccer Coaches Division I All-Southeast Region First Team pick last fall, started 18 matches and totaled 1,510 minutes of action, leading UCF in goals scored (13) and points (30) while also ranking among Sun Belt Conference leaders in goals (2nd), total 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).
In addition to his all-region selection, Ricol also garnered Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year, All-Sun Belt Conference First Team, Sun Belt Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player, and Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament Team honors.
He notched at least one point in 11 different matches throughout the fall, at least two point 10 times, and at least three points on four different occasions.
Ricol was responsible for two of UCF’s four individual multi-goal games this season, highlighted by his first career hat trick against James Madison Oct. 22, and his brace in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship match against third-seeded No. 12 Marshall Nov. 16.
His brace in the tournament title match secured his place as the first Knight since at least 1998 to score at least two goals in a tournament championship contest, and he also became the third player in the last three seasons to record a brace in the Sun Belt’s championship match, joining West Virginia’s Sergio Ors Navarro (2023) and Marshall’s Alvaro Garcia-Pascual (2023).
His best offensive stretch of the season came in a five-game span from Oct. 10-26, during which he netted six goals and added his second assist of the season, and he later scored UCF’s eventual game-winning goal in the program’s 3-2 NCAA Tournament victory over FAU at home Nov. 20.