ORLANDO – When the UCF men’s soccer team next sets foot on the pitch, the chase for something not accomplished by a Sun Belt team in six years will commence.
With the 2026 regular season complete, the third-seeded UCF men’s soccer team turns its attention to postseason play, beginning action in the Sun Belt Conference tournament with a Sunday evening tilt against the sixth-seeded No. 24 South Carolina Gamecocks in Huntington, West Virginia.
Representing the defending Sun Belt tournament champions, the Knights aim to become the first team since Coastal Carolina to win back-to-back Sun Belt tournament titles, as the Chanticleers earned two consecutive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament in both the 2019 and 2020 campaigns.
A win over the Gamecocks Sunday would set up a potential 2025 Sun Belt Tournament Championship game rematch at the very site on which the Knights clinched their title nearly a year ago, as UCF would face the winner of second-seeded Marshall’s Sunday afternoon matchup with seventh-seeded Kentucky.
The Black and Gold will be led into postseason play by their newly-minted group of six All-Sun Belt Conference selections, headlined by Drew Hansen’s Sun Belt Player of the Year nod.
Hansen earns the prestigious status on the heels of a new Sun Belt record three consecutive Offensive Player of the Week honors, and is joined on the postseason All-Sun Belt squads by defenders Takahiro Fujita and Gwendal Degorce (First Team), midfielder Younes Boudinar (Second Team), goalkeeper Matisse Hébert (Second Team), and forward Alex Partera (Second Team).
The six Knights led their team to a 9-4-3 overall record throughout the regular season, including a 5-3-1 mark in Sun Belt play, good for 16 points in the league table to clinch the program’s third top three conference finish within its first four years as a member of the Sun Belt.
Hansen starred throughout the slate, catching fire especially during his team’s final six games of the campaign. The Cleveland, North Carolina native scored at least one goal in five of said six contests, including three braces against Old Dominion, then-No. 18 South Carolina and Georgia State, and notched game-winning goals in each of UCF’s final three games against the Gamecocks, Panthers and Georgia Southern Eagles.
The forward finished the year leading the Sun Belt in overall goals scored (12), game-winning goals (5) and total points (27), and also paced the league in conference play in total goals (8) and points (18).
In matching up once again with the Gamecocks Sunday, UCF will look to clinch its second win of the season over South Carolina after the Black and Gold edged the Gamecocks in an offensive slugfest in Orlando by a 3-2 final score Oct. 25.
The victory clinched UCF’s first win of the year over a ranked opponent, and with South Carolina still in the United Soccer Coaches’ latest top 25 released Tuesday, Nov. 3, the Knights can record their second such effort Sunday.
The Black and Gold enter postseason play with an all-time 3-2 record in Sun Belt tournament play following their unblemished 3-0 showing a season ago, and will meet the Gamecocks in the conference tournament for the second time since joining the league in 2023. South Carolina previously bested UCF in the 2023 tournament in Orlando, by a 2-1 final score Nov. 5.
The Gamecocks, while having produced a strong overall 10-5-2 record during the regular season, enter tournament play looking to right the ship following three consecutive defeats to end the year.
After suffering their 3-2 loss to the Knights in Orlando Oct. 25, South Carolina also fell to then-No. 21 Marshall at home, 2-1, Oct. 30, and to Coastal Carolina on the road, 2-1, Nov. 3, to fall to the Sun Belt’s No. 6 seed.
The Gamecocks, though, were also well-represented in the Sun Belt’s end-of-season awards, seeing defender Mika Habel clinch 2026 Defensive Player of the Year recognition and All-Sun Belt nods also going to midfielder Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez, forward Cristian Ortiz, and midfielder Yoni Perez.
Offensively, Velazquez-Lopez paces the team with 17 total points on the strength of seven goals and a trio of assists, while sophomore goalkeeper Noah Scheidweiler has handled the majority of the load between the posts, producing a 1.15 goals-against average and a .710 save percentage in his 16 starts.
Opening kick is set for 7 p.m. from Hoops Family Field in Huntington, West Virginia, and will be streamed live on ESPN+ Sunday, Nov. 8.
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.