ORLANDO – On the heels of a standout performance in UCF’s most recent tilt against the Marshall Thundering Herd Oct. 3, defender Takahiro Fujita has been tabbed the Sun Belt Conference’s week seven Offensive Player of the Week.
With the selection, Fujita garners his second Sun Belt Conference weekly honor this year, joining his appointment as the league’s week two Defensive Player of the Week, and the Knights’ ninth overall weekly award winner since joining the Sun Belt in 2023.
He also became the first player in UCF’s Sun Belt era to earn multiple weekly honors in the same season, and only the second Knight in that span to earn at least two Sun Belt weekly awards across multiple seasons, joining former goalkeeper Juanvi Muñoz, who earned Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week honors in 2023 and 2025.
In his first match against the team with which he spent the first three years of his collegiate career, Fujita starred on both ends of the pitch, scoring two of UCF’s four goals while aiding his squad in becoming the first this season to record a clean sheet against the Thundering Herd.
He first found the back of the net on a well-executed header off a corner kick by teammate Germán Moreno in the 55th minute to extend the Knights’ lead to 2-0, and scored a second time moments later with help from Moreno and Petter Wingsternaes.
The effort gave the senior defender his third and fourth goals of the season, as well as the first brace of his collegiate career, to set a new single-season personal best with four goals scored this fall. His four goals in 2026 match his previous career total of four spanning the 2024 and 2025 seasons combined.
Fujita also became the first player to record a brace against the Thundering Herd since UCF’s Lilian Ricol did so in the 2025 Sun Belt Conference tournament championship match in Huntington, West Virginia, Nov. 16, 2025, and his effort helped UCF become the first team to score four goals in a single match against Marshall since West Virginia toppled the Herd, 5-2, in Morgantown Oct. 18, 2023.
UP NEXT
Fujita and the Knights look to continue their momentum in their next test on the road against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. Opening kick is set for 6 p.m. from Conway, South Carolina, Friday, Oct. 9, 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.