The UCF Knights men's soccer team represents the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

National Collegiate Athletics Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and 1 in Canada. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and helps ...

(NCAA) Division I. As of the next NCAA men's soccer season in 2023, the Knights compete in the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

(SBC). This coincides with UCF's July 2023 move from the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

(The American), a league in which it had been a member since 2013, to the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

, which sponsors soccer only for women. They play their home games on UCF's main campus in

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

at the

UCF Soccer and Track Stadium The UCF Soccer and Track Complex is a multi-purpose stadium, multi-purpose stadium located on the main campus of the University of Central Florida near Orlando, Florida, United States in unincorporated Orange County, Florida, Orange County. The 2 ...

. The Knights are currently led by head coach Scott Calabrese.

History

The Knights soccer program began in 1975 under Jim Rudy. The Knights went 10–4–1 that year, defeating St. Leo in their first match 8–0. In 1984, the team made the move to Division I. The Knights were nationally ranked for the first time during the 2010 season, and rose to a program high of No. 1 in the country during the 2023 season.2011 UCF Men's Soccer Yearbook
Issuu.com (September 14, 2011). Retrieved on November 16, 2011. After UCF announced its move to the Big 12, it was forced to find a new home for men's soccer because the Big 12 only sponsors soccer for women. School officials expected to join the SBC, which reinstated men's soccer for the 2022 season with a lineup that significantly included the only then-current Big 12 member with a men's soccer program (

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

) and both

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

schools that sponsor varsity men's soccer (

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

). This was confirmed on June 21, 2022, when the SBC officially announced UCF's 2023 arrival as a men's soccer member. It created two derbies: the Big 12 Derby against West Virginia, and the Big 12-SEC Challenge featuring both with Kentucky and South Carolina. The Knights have an all-time record of 422–330–76.

Players

Current roster

Notable alumni

UCF has produced a number of notable soccer stars. Most notably, Eric Vasquez, Sean Johnson and Ryan McIntosh. Vasquez, who made his professional soccer debut with the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

in Major League Soccer, later played for

Miami FC Miami FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (201 ...

in the United Soccer Leagues' First Division and the

Orlando Sharks The Orlando Sharks were a professional American indoor soccer team based in Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 censu ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League before retiring due to injury. Former Knights Goalkeeper Ryan McIntosh initially played with D.C. United, and after a year with the D.C. United Reserve team, McIntosh signed with the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

of USL Division One, where he led the team to the league final. Both players were a part of the 2004 Central Florida Kraze amateur soccer team that won the Premier Development League's championship by defeating the Boulder Rapids Reserves, 1–0 at the UCF soccer stadium. In 2019, two of players got selected in the

MLS SuperDraft The MLS SuperDraft is an annual Draft (sports), college draft for teams of Major League Soccer in the United States and Canada in which MLS clubs take turns selecting from a pool of eligible amateur players. These drafted players usually come f ...

that took place in Chicago.Striker Cal Jennings was picked number 15th in the first round by the

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The franchise be ...

and Defender Jonathan Dean got selected 32nd in the second round of the draft by Orlando City Soccer Club. Sean Johnson, another former UCF goalkeeper, joined the Chicago Fire of

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

in 2010. He was a member of the

United States U-20 men's national soccer team The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. The United States' be ...

which qualified for the

2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which was hosted by Egypt from 24 September to 16 October 2009. The tournament was initially going to take place between 10 and 31 July. However, the 2009 FIFA Confede ...

in Egypt.

Coaches

All-time coaches

Seasons

Stadium

The Knights play their home games at the

which is a part of Knights Plaza, located on the north end of UCF's main campus in Orlando, Florida. The soccer field is made of natural grass and measures x . In 2011, the stadium was heavily renovated, boasting a 2,000 seat capacity with a new 1,475-seat stand, press box, clubhouse, restrooms and new entrance on the west side of the facility. The original 500-seat stand was retained as a visitors' stand.UCF to Open New Stadium With Thursday's Twilight Meet
. Ucfathletics.cstv.com (May 3, 2011). Retrieved on November 16, 2011.

References

External links

* {{Sun Belt Conference men's soccer navbox Soccer clubs in Florida 1975 establishments in Florida