ORLANDO – After producing a commanding 4-0 victory over the visiting Marshall Thundering Herd Oct. 3, UCF will look to keep its momentum rolling as the Knights head north to take on the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers in Conway, South Carolina Oct. 9.
In shutout fashion, the Knights took down the Thundering Herd for the second consecutive meeting, building on their 3-1 victory over Marshall in 2025 that secured the first Sun Belt Conference tournament championship title in campaign history. UCF continued its dominance over Marshall Saturday night, blanking the Thundering Herd at home in the annual Space Game.
Late in the first half, Hugo Vien put the Knights on the board with an assist from Leny Jerome, recording UCF’s first goal of the evening and the first of Vien’s NCAA Division I career.
Just minutes into the second half, the Knights extended their lead with two quick goals. Senior defender and former Marshall player Takahiro Fujita opened the scoring in the half with a header off a corner kick from Germán Moreno before finding the back of the net again with Moreno and Petter Wingsternaes providing the assists.
The Black and Gold struck once more late in the match, as Younes Boudinar buried a free kick to cap off the scoring and set a new single-season career high in goals for the second-year Knight.
Between the posts for UCF, goalkeeper Matisse Hébert made a pair of crucial saves throughout the match, securing his sixth clean sheet of the season. With six shutouts on the year, Hébert now sits tied for eighth in UCF’s single-season record books for total shutouts.
“It’s just amazing,” Hébert said. “We have six clean sheets in 10 games, it's brilliant and we just need to keep on building on that.”
UCF will now turn its attention to Coastal Carolina, where another Sun Belt test awaits. The Knights enter the matchup with a 5-2-0 all-time record against the Chanticleers and will look to add another chapter to its winning history when the two programs meet on the road for the fourth consecutive season.
With the Knights holding a record of 1-1-1 in conference play and the Chanticleers holding a 0-1-2 conference record, the Black and Gold will look to set the tone early and put themselves in a strong position as conference play continues.
Offensively, Coastal Carolina is led by sophomore forward Matoe Caride, who has recorded three goals this season to lead the team in the category. Caride also leads the Chanticleers in total points with six, shots on goal with nine, and total shots with 20. In goal, Coastal Carolina has relied solely on redshirt sophomore Will Devine through its 10 games in the regular season. Devine has recorded a total of 27 saves and posted a .692 save percentage.
Opening kick is set for 6 p.m. from the CCU 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 website at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.