ORLANDO – With the conclusion of the squad’s most recent three-match homestand, the UCF men’s soccer team will look to bring their early-season momentum back on the road, as the squad will begin a three-match stint away from home against the VCU Rams in Richmond, Virginia Friday evening.
The Black and Gold, now with just over a quarter of the 2026 regular season complete, have gone unbeaten in four of their first five showings of the new campaign, including a trio of wins and four clean sheets.
In doing so, the group has become the program’s first team since the 2003 Knights to notch at least four defensive shutouts in its first five games, and UCF has also continued a strong early-season trend of limiting offensive chances in each contest for its opposition.
The squad for the fifth straight match to begin the season Sunday yielded fewer than 10 total shot attempts in its 6-0 win over Florida Polytechnic, a feat most recently accomplished by the 2018 Knights who surrendered six to Penn State, nine to UC Irvine, seven to Liberty, nine to Virginia Tech, and five to West Virginia.
With just four goals surrendered through their first five games, the Knights led the Sun Belt Conference entering play Tuesday evening in shutout percentage (80 percent) and rank tied for second in the league with South Carolina in team goals-against average (.800).
Offensively, UCF’s latest display represented a season-best performance for the group, which erupted for six scores from four different players in the matchup against the Phoenix. The Knights’ six goals marked the program’s most in a single game since the squad eclipsed the six score mark twice in 2021, most recently in a 6-0 win over third-seeded Memphis in UCF’s AAC Tournament opener Nov. 10. The contest also represented the last time UCF outscored its opposition by at least six tallies in a single match.
Redshirt junior forward Drew Hansen notably netted his first career hat trick, scoring his first three goals of the year to record his second career multi-goal affair and his first since his brace against the Kentucky Wildcats at home Oct. 23, 2024.
With an assist on Joachim Kyei’s first career Division I goal in the 74th minute as well, Hansen totaled seven points on the evening, the most in a single match by a Knight since Alessandro Campoy’s four-goal, eight-point showing in the Black and Gold’s 6-2 win over FGCU Sept. 11, 2021.
Hansen and Kyei, who found the back of the net for the first time this season Sunday, were also joined on the scoresheet by Alex Partera and Kenn Muendo. Partera notched his second consecutive game with a goal after producing UCF’s lone score against then-No. 18 Clemson Sept. 1, and Muendo scored his second goal of the year and third of his Division I career in the 56th minute.
Freshman midfielder Sena Yamamoto made his collegiate debut in the match and recorded his first career point as well, an assist on Muendo’s score that pushed the Knights’ advantage to 4-0 at the time.
The squad will clash with a VCU team that, while still in search of its first win of the 2026 season, has played a gauntlet of a schedule to begin the slate, having matched up with three different United Soccer Coaches top 25 opponents thus far in then-No. 14 UNC Greensboro, then-No. 14 High Point and then-No. 15 Marshall.
The Rams’ schedule so far has also included contests against Wake Forest and North Carolina, and all five matches have been on the road. VCU so far has played to draws with the Demon Deacons (0-0) and the High Point Panthers (1-1), but is still looking for its first triumphant result of the year, entering its home-opener at 0-3-2 overall.
The Rams’ first three goals of the year have come from junior defender Ty Johnson and freshmen Jonas Pettersen and Kimarly Scott, while sophomore netminder Manuel Monteiro has earned the starting nod in each of his team’s first five games, producing a 1.80 goals-against average, a .609 save percentage and 14 total saves, good for just under three per game.
Opening kick for the contest is set for 3 p.m. from the VCU 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.