ORLANDO – As the calendar flips to the 2026 regular season’s final full month, the UCF men’s soccer team will conclude a two-game home swing with a Saturday night matchup against the visiting Marshall Thundering Herd.
The matchup represents the first meeting between the two programs since the 2025 Sun Belt Conference tournament championship game, a clash UCF won by a 3-1 final score in Huntington, West Virginia, Nov. 16, 2025, to claim the first Sun Belt Conference title in program history.
The effort represented UCF’s first win over Marshall since joining the Sun Belt in 2023, snapping a three-game skid in the series between the two programs, and clinched an automatic bid to the 10th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. The Knights would be awarded hosting honors for the first round, a matchup they won against in-state rival Florida Atlantic, 3-2, before falling to the No. 7 overall seed Georgetown Hoyas in Washington, D.C., 2-0 Nov. 23.
In the contest this weekend, UCF will look to right the ship on the heels of a stretch that has seen the team go 0-1-2 in its last three contests against James Madison, Stetson and Kentucky to conclude the month of September after beginning the year 4-1-1 through six matches.
The Black and Gold’s defensive efforts have continued to hold strong throughout the fall on the other end of the pitch, as the squad has allowed one or fewer goals in eight of its first nine games to give the Knights a .778 team goals-against average that ranks second lowest in the Sun Belt and tied for 18th in the nation.
UCF’s seven total goals allowed through its first nine contests this year also represent the fewest the program has yielded through a season’s first nine games since the 2010 Knights allowed only six goals in their first nine matches, producing four clean sheets in that span while allowing multiple goals on just one occasion, a 2-1 loss at UMass Sept. 17.
In turn, junior Matisse Hébert has solidified himself among the nation’s steadiest goalkeepers, as the Québec, Canada, native ranks among conference and national leaders in total shutouts (5, 1st Sun Belt, 3rd NCAA), goals-against average (.778, 3rd Sun Belt, 26th NCAA), save percentage (.750, 5th Sun Belt), and total saves (21, 6th Sun Belt).
The Black and Gold Saturday will welcome to Orlando a Marshall squad just outside the latest United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll, as the Thundering Herd have produced a 4-1-3 mark through their first eight contests this fall.
The team is unbeaten through two Sun Belt Conference matchups thus far, most recently playing to a 1-1 draw with then-No. 21 West Virginia in Huntington Sept. 27 after besting the Kentucky Wildcats, 1-0, in Lexington Sept. 18.
The Thundering Herd, like UCF, has scored a total of 14 goals entering the weekend’s meeting, but rank seventh in the Sun Belt in overall team goals-against average with a 1.25 clip. Marshall is led offensively by freshman forward Joshua Nugent, who paces the squad with four goals scored, and senior forward Carl Romberg, who has also accrued eight points thus far on the strength of three goals and a pair of assists.
The Herd has also turned to a freshman for the majority of the load between the goalposts as well, as first-year goalkeeper Yurij Obert has started seven of Marshall’s first eight matches, recording a 1.29 goals-against average, 21 saves and a .700 save percentage.
Opening kick for the match is set for 7 p.m. from the UCF Soccer Complex Saturday evening 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.