ORLANDO – The UCF men’s soccer team produced an effort to match the pregame emotions surrounding its Senior Night recognition ceremony, toppling the visiting Old Dominion Monarchs, 5-1, at the UCF Soccer Complex Saturday evening.
On the heels of a brief pregame moment during which the program recognized each of Joey Mueller, Takahiro Fujita, Timo Haböck, Gabi Velez, Christian Hatley, Hugo Vien and Kenn Muendo, the Knights (6-3-3, 2-2-1 Sun Belt) produced one of their strongest outings of the season.
In yielding just one Old Dominion (9-4-0, 1-4-0 Sun Belt) goal, UCF quieted one of the highest-scoring offensive units in the nation, as the Monarchs failed to eclipse the two-goal mark for just the third time this fall. The Old Dominion offense entered Saturday evening ranking within the nation’s top 10 in goals per game (2.92, 4th), points per game (8.08, 6th), and shots on goal per game (7.33, 10th).
“It comes down to character. We’ve had our ups and downs this season, and this week was tough coming off the Coastal Carolina result,” said sophomore defender Jem Hewlett. “We really galvanized ourselves together, and we were able to count on each other in the important moments. We did a good job with preparing for this match.”
The victory clinched UCF’s sixth win of the fall campaign and second in its last three games, and with their second Sun Belt win of the year the Knights saw their points total in the league table jump to seven.
The Black and Gold also recorded their second highest offensive output of the season, trailing only their 6-0 triumph over Florida Polytechnic Sept. 6, as well as their most prolific showing against a Division I opponent since their 5-1 win over Bradley in Orlando Oct. 14, 2025. UCF also improved to 56-24-12 at the UCF Soccer Complex under head coach Scott Calabrese with the win, good for a .674 win percentage.
“It was a really good game from our guys,” Calabrese said. “We knew what Old Dominion was looking to do, and we knew we were going to have to deal with their direct play, physicality and intensity, and our guys did a great job. We wanted to control the game and possess the ball, and we did what we wanted to do.”
The Knights did it on the strength of a pair of Drew Hansen goals, representing the redshirt junior’s second multi-goal showing of the fall, and scores by Takahiro Fujita, Joey Mueller and Erik Vázquez.
In finding the back of the net in the 84th and 90th minutes, Hansen notched his third career multi-goal game and second against a Sun Belt Conference opponent, joining his first career brace that came against the Kentucky Wildcats in Orlando Oct. 23, 2024.
It was Vázquez, though, who broke the ice in the final minute before the halftime whistle, giving his team a 1-0 advantage in the 44th minute with a strike that squeezed just inside the far goalpost and past the dive of the Monarchs keeper. The tally represented the Spanish freshman’s first career Division I goal.
Mueller and Fujita, both having been honored as two of the program’s seven seniors in the pregame ceremony, then netted back-to-back scores in the 64th and 81st minutes of action to balloon UCF’s edge to 3-0.
Mueller’s tally represented his second of the season and fifth of his career, while Fujita added one more to his 2026 total that already represented a single-season career best, as the defender produced his fifth goal of the year and ninth of his career.
“This was Joey’s best performance of the season, he was excellent in the midfield,” Calabrese continued. “We needed Takahiro to be really good today, to deal with Old Dominion’s direct play, set pieces and long throws. He certainly did that and came up with a goal too.”
With Hansen’s two late-match goals, the Cleveland, North Carolina native has also scored three goals in his last two games when factoring in his converted penalty try against the Chanticleers Oct. 9, and he enters the Knights’ next contest against No. 24 West Virginia representing UCF’s overall points leader with 15 (seven goals, one assist).
“All strikers get some confidence in those moments, and the way he took his last goal, he was so calm, put it in the corner. We want him hitting the back of the net regularly, because that will give him confidence to do it in the next game.”
Goalkeeper Matisse Hébert also produced another strong showing between the posts, making a trio of saves on four Monarchs shots and allowing only an Old Dominion converted penalty kick attempt.
With his three stops, Hébert recorded his 10th match in the team’s first 12 with one or fewer goals allowed.
UP NEXT
The Knights face another challenge away from home, as the squad will look to bring its winning ways to Morgantown, West Virginia for a clash with the No. 24 West Virginia Mountaineers. Opening kick is set for 7 p.m. from Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium 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 website at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.