# 2019 UCF Knights men's soccer team

The 2019 UCF Knights men's soccer team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2019 NCAA Division I men's soccer season and the 2019 American Athletic Conference men's soccer season. The regular season began on August 30 and concluded on November 5. It was the program's 44th season fielding a men's varsity soccer team, and their 7th season in the AAC. The 2019 season was Scott Calabrese's third year as head coach for the program.
UCF finished the season with a 15–3–2 overall record and a 6–0–1 conference record, best in the AAC. The Knights advanced to the finals of the AAC Tournament where they fell to SMU for the third consecutive year. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the third round where they were defeated by SMU.

## Background

The Knights are coming off a 13–3–3 season where they finished 5–1–1 in AAC play, earning them their first American Athletic Conference regular season title. In the 2018 American Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament, UCF lost to SMU in penalty kicks, 4–5 after a 1–1 draw in regulation and extra time. UCF earned an at-large berth into the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, where they were one of the 16 seeded teams (out of 48 teams total) given the 14 seed. It was UCF's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2011. With the seed, they earned a bye into the second round where they hosted the winner of Washington and Lipscomb. Lipscomb beat Washington in penalties, and also ended up beating the Knights in overtime, thus ending the season for UCF.
Junior striker, Cal Jennings, lead UCF in goals and assists for 2018 and was named a consensus All-American with Top Drawer Soccer, Soccer America, United Soccer Coaches, and CollegeSoccerNews.com all naming him as a first-team All-American.

## Player movement
### Departures

| Name | Nat. | Number | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Andreas Steineger | NOR | 2 | DF | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 | Senior | Oslo, NOR | Graduated |
| Zachary Waitman | USA | 5 | DF | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | 165 | Senior | Montverde, FL | Graduated |
| Jonathan Dean | USA | 6 | MF | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | 155 | Senior | Macon, GA | Graduated |
| Gorka Aperribay | USA | 9 | FW | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 | Senior | Winter Springs, FL | Graduated |
| Walker Dawkins | USA | 11 | MF | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | 135 | RS-Senior | Royal Palm Beach, FL | Graduated |
| François André Dulysse | HAI | 16 | DF | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 173 | Sophomore | West Palm Beach, FL | Transferred to Manhattan |
| C. J. Campbell | USA | 17 | DF | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | 150 | Senior | Plantation, FL | Graduated |
| Max Stiegwardt | USA | 19 | MF | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 165 | Senior | Plymouth, MN | Graduated |
| Ricardo Oliveros | VEN | 22 | MF | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | 165 | Senior | Weston, FL | Graduated |
| Noah Murphy | USA | 23 | FW | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 195 | Senior | Austin, TX | Graduated |
| Matthew Rosenberg | USA | 26 | GK | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 | Junior | Manalapan, NJ | Transferred to Xavier |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Nat. | Number | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Former School |
| Itzik Efraim | ISR | 18 | DF | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 189 | Sophomore | Jerusalem, ISR | Belmont |
| Glademir Mendoza | MEX | 31 | DF | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 150 | RS-Freshman | Phoenix, AZ | New Mexico |

### High school recruits

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | High School | Club | TDS Rating |
| José Aldaco, Jr. FW | USA | Lake Alfred, FL | Auburndale | Weston FC | |
| Bernardo Brandão GK | BRA | Rio de Janeiro, BRA | IMG Academy | — | |
| Jeremy Di Lallo MF | CAN | Blainville, QC | Montverde Academy | Orlando City | |
| Andrew Lizyness MF | USA | Windermere, FL | Olympia (FL) | Acys Spirit United | |
| Josiah Ramírez MF | USA | Harrisburg, PA | Lower Dauphin | Penn FC | |
| Jonas Schmalbäch FW | ITA | Venice, ITA | ESNR | Lausanne | NR |
| Gino Vivi FW | CRC | San José, CRC | CFIS | Saprissa | NR |
| Beto Ydrach MF | PUR | Orlando, FL | Olympia (FL) | Orlando City | |

## Roster

    As of September 26, 2019
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | GER | Yannik Oettl |
| 3 | FW | USA | Cal Jennings |
| 4 | DF | USA | Jack McCloskey |
| 5 | DF | CRC | Andres Hernandez Betancur |
| 6 | DF | FRA | Yanis Leerman |
| 7 | FW | GHA | Richard Amon |
| 8 | MF | ISR | Yoni Sorokin |
| 9 | FW | ITA | Jonas Schmalbach |
| 10 | MF | FRA | Louis Perez |
| 11 | FW | FRA | Hattabiou Barry |
| 12 | MF | BRA | Gregorio Ibanez |
| 13 | MF | USA | Josiah Ramirez |
| 14 | MF | BRA | Gianluca Arcangeli |
| 15 | DF | ENG | Gideon Adu-Peprah |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 16 | MF | PUR | Beto Ydrach |
| 17 | FW | CRC | Gino Vivi |
| 18 | DF | ISR | Itzik Efraim |
| 19 | MF | USA | Andrew Lizyness |
| 20 | MF | CRC | Mauricio Villalobos Vega |
| 21 | FW | USA | Brandon Golding |
| 22 | MF | CAN | Jeremy Di Lallo |
| 23 | MF | NOR | Thomas Ness |
| 24 | DF | USA | Jonathan Dean |
| 25 | GK | USA | Matt Douglass |
| 26 | GK | BRA | Bernardo Brandão |
| 28 | FW | ARG | Franco Loello |
| 29 | FW | USA | Jose Aldaco, Jr. |
| 31 | DF | MEX | Glademir Mendoza |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Athletic Director | Danny White |
| Head Coach | Scott Calabrese |
| Associate Head Coach | Paul Souders |
| Assistant Coach | Jamie Davies |
| Volunteer Goalkeeper Coach | Peter Davis |

## Schedule

| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Preseason ||||||
| August 19* 7:00 p.m. | No. 15 | Eastern Florida | W 6–0 | | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium Orlando, FL |
| August 24* 6:00 p.m. | No. 15 | FIU | W 3–1 | | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium Orlando, FL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| August 30* 6:00 p.m. | No. 15 | at No. 4 Wake Forest Carolina Nike Classic | L 1–2 | 0–1–0 | Spry Stadium (1,578) Winston-Salem, NC |
| September 1* 6:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 15 | at No. 6 North Carolina Carolina Nike Classic | W 2–1 | 1–1–0 | Fetzer Field (814) Chapel Hill, NC |
| September 6* 7:00 p.m., Twitch | No. 15 | Penn State | T 2–2 $^{2OT}$ | 1–1–1 | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (706) Orlando, FL |
| September 8* 7:00 p.m., UCFKnights.tv | No. 15 | UTRGV | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 2–1–1 | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (362) Orlando, FL |
| September 13* 7:00 p.m., UCFKnights.tv | No. 16 | VCU | W 2–0 | 3–1–1 | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (731) Orlando, FL |
| September 18* 7:00 p.m. | No. 13 | at Florida Gulf Coast | W 4–1 | 4–1–1 | FGCU Soccer Complex (653) Fort Myers, FL |
| September 22* 6:00 p.m., UCFKnights.tv | No. 13 | South Carolina | W 2–0 | 5–1–1 | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (436) Orlando, FL |
| American Athletic regular season ||||||
| September 27 7:00 p.m., UCFKnights.tv | No. 12 | Temple | W 2–0 | 6–1–1 (1–0–0) | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (605) Orlando, FL |
| October 1* 7:00 p.m., UCFKnights.tv | No. 11 | Florida Atlantic | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 7–1–1 | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (367) Orlando, FL |
| October 6 8:00 p.m., ADN | No. 11 | at No. 4 SMU | T 3–3 $^{2OT}$ | 7–1–2 (1–0–1) | Westcott Field (2,719) Dallas, TX |
| October 12 7:00 p.m., UCFKnights.tv | No. 9 | Tulsa | W 3–2 $^{2OT}$ | 8–1–2 (2–0–1) | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (514) Orlando, FL |
| October 20 7:00 p.m., ADN | No. 11 | at UConn Civil Conflict | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 9–1–2 (3–0–1) | Dillon Stadium (1,625) Hartford, CT |
| October 26 7:00 p.m., ADN | No. 8 | at South Florida War on I-4 | W 1–0 | 10–1–2 (4–0–1) | Corbett Soccer Stadium (1,506) Tampa, FL |
| October 29* 6:00 p.m., UCFKnights.tv | No. 8 | Stetson | W 3–2 $^{2OT}$ | 11–1–2 | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (346) Orlando, FL |
| November 1 7:00 p.m., UCFKnights.tv | No. 6 | Memphis | W 1–0 | 12–1–2 (5–0–1) | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (826) Orlando, FL |
| November 5 7:00 p.m., ADN | No. 6 | at Cincinnati | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 13–1–2 (6–0–1) | Gettler Stadium (373) Cincinnati, OH |
| AAC Tournament ||||||
| November 13 7:00 p.m., FBL | (1) No. 5 | (5) Temple Semifinals | W 5–0 | 14–1–2 | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (711) Orlando, FL |
| November 16 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | (1) No. 5 | (2) No. 10 SMU AAC Championship | L 0–1 | 14–2–2 | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (1,237) Orlando, FL |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 24 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (9) No. 8 | No. 12 Missouri State Second round | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 15–2–2 | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (857) Orlando, FL |
| November 30 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (9) No. 8 | at (8) No. 5 SMU Third round | L 1–2 $^{OT}$ | 15–3–2 | Westcott Field (979) Dallas, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Cal Jennings | AAC Offensive Player of the Year | November 12, 2019 |
| Yoni Sorokin | AAC Midfielder of the Year | November 12, 2019 |
| Yannik Oettl | AAC Goalkeeper of the Year | November 12, 2019 |
| Gino Vivi | AAC Rookie of the Year | November 12, 2019 |
| Scott Calabrese | AAC Coaching Staff of the Year | November 12, 2019 |
| Yannik Oettl | All-AAC First Team | November 12, 2019 |
| Cal Jennings | All-AAC First Team | November 12, 2019 |
| Yoni Sorokin | All-AAC First Team | November 12, 2019 |
| Yanis Leerman | All-AAC First Team | November 12, 2019 |
| Louis Perez | All-AAC Second Team | November 12, 2019 |
| Glademir Mendoza | All-AAC Rookie Team | November 12, 2019 |
| Gino Vivi | All-AAC Rookie Team | November 12, 2019 |
| Cal Jennings | AAC All-Tournament Team | November 16, 2019 |
| Yannik Oettl | AAC All-Tournament Team | November 16, 2019 |
| Louis Perez | AAC All-Tournament Team | November 16, 2019 |
| Gino Vivi | AAC All-Tournament Team | November 16, 2019 |
| Cal Jennings | Soccer America All-America First-Team | December 12, 2019 |
| Cal Jennings | United Soccer Coaches All-America First-Team | December 12, 2019 |
| Cal Jennings | College Soccer News All-America First-Team | December 16, 2019 |
| Cal Jennings | Top Drawer Soccer All-America First-Team | December 23, 2019 |
| Yoni Sorokin | Top Drawer Soccer All-America Second-Team | December 23, 2019 |
| Yanis Leerman | Top Drawer Soccer All-America Second-Team | December 23, 2019 |

## 2020 MLS Super Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Cal Jennings | FC Dallas | 1 | 17 | FW |
| Jonathan Dean | Orlando City | 2 | 39 | DF |

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. NV=Not receiving votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Final |
| United Soccer | 15 | None | 15 | 16 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 8 | None Released | None Released | None Released | 10 |
| Top Drawer Soccer | 17 | 17 | 11 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| College Soccer News | 18 | None | 17 | 19 | 18 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | None Released | None Released | None Released | 10 |
| Soccer America | 13 | None | 9 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 8 | None Released | None Released | None Released | None Released |