Men's Soccer to Host No. 16 Clemson in Tuesday Clash

ORLANDO – Fresh off the group’s program record-tying third consecutive clean sheet to begin the 2026 season, the UCF men’s soccer team is set for another early season challenge, when the squad will welcome the No. 16 Clemson Tigers to Orlando for a Tuesday evening clash.

The Knights most recently extended their season-opening unbeaten streak to three straight matches with their 2-0 victory over South Florida Aug. 28, a shutout that ensured the Black and Gold remain without a goal conceded through their first three games.

With their efforts, this year’s team joins the 1980 Knights as the second in program history to begin a season with three straight shutouts, and UCF also represents one of just six Division I programs in the nation to have done so following play Sunday evening, joining Akron, Ohio State, UC San Diego, UNC Wilmington and Wisconsin.

UCF also allowed fewer than 10 total shot attempts for the third straight contest Friday evening, representing the first time since 2023 that the squad produced such a streak, in matchups against then-No. 9 Clemson, Stetson and NC State.

The Knights offensively were bolstered by goals from senior defender Takahiro Fujita and senior midfielder Kenn Muendo in the program’s first multi-score showing of the fall, with Fujita finding the back of the net for the second time in three games and Muendo notching his second career Division I goal.

With Fujita’s score in the 29th minute, the Kawai, Japan, native netted his second career game-winning goal, both coming through this season’s first three games, his second score overall this year, and his sixth career goal. The Sun Belt’s 2026 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year now needs just one more goal to match his previous season high of three he achieved in his last season with Marshall in 2025.

Muendo, meanwhile, notched his second goal since joining the Knights prior to the 2025 campaign in the 78th minute of Friday’s win over the Bulls, and his first since he was responsible for UCF’s lone score at then-No. 6 Wake Forest Aug. 24, 2025.

Junior goalkeeper Matisse Hébert needed just one save between the posts to clinch his third shutout of the year as well, as the transfer netminder enters Tuesday’s contest still perfect on the season with a 0.00 goals-against average and a 1.000 save percentage. His latest clean sheet represented the 13th of his career, ensuring Hébert at least three shutouts in each of his first three Division I seasons.

When UCF meets Clemson Tuesday evening, the Knights will look to clinch their second straight win over the Tigers after stunning then-No. 9 Clemson on the road to start the 2023 season by a 2-1 final score.

The effort helped catapult UCF into the national top 25 rankings throughout the remainder of the season, a year that later saw the team earn the first No. 1 national ranking in a regular-season poll in UCF Athletics history.

Saku Heiskanen, who would later earn Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2023, and Emmanuel Bam were responsible for UCF’s two scores against the Tigers, and the Knights as a whole yielded just seven total shot attempts to the Tigers, including only three on goal.

Clemson this season has risen as high as the No. 16 spot in the United Soccer Coaches’ most recent top 25 poll Aug. 25 after beginning the year unranked, having earned a top three win over then-No. 3 Furman, 5-1, to start the season Aug. 20 before also blanking ETSU, 2-0 Aug. 23. The Tigers enter Tuesday’s tilt looking to bounce back from a 3-2 loss to in-state rival South Carolina Friday evening, though, representing the program’s first defeat of the fall.

The contest will represent UCF’s first of the season against a ranked opponent as well, just months after the Black and Gold set a new single-season program record with a trio of wins over ranked opponents in 2025, having toppled then-No. 11 Georgia Southern 3-0 (Oct. 10), then-No. 19 Kentucky 1-0 (Nov. 12), and then-No. 12 Marshall 3-1 (Nov. 16).

Tied for the second most goals per game in the ACC through three matches with an average of three, Clemson has seen six different players score at least once thus far, including three who have scored twice. Sophomore forward Xavier Sevian serves as his team’s points leader thus far, having recorded a pair of goals and an assist through three games.

The Tigers have also seen two different keepers see time between the posts this season, led by senior Aleksa Janjic, who through two appearances has conceded four goals and made a trio of saves to earn his 1-1 record. Sophomore Gaizka Garcia made a pair of saves in notching a clean sheet against ETSU in his lone appearance.

Opening kick is set for 7 p.m. from the UCF Soccer Complex 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.