Over this past week, the UCF Knights sports world saw two teams make it into the NCAA Tournament while another made program history.
We also have our Knight of the Week and Play of the Week in this Wednesday,
Nov. 19 edition of KnightCap.
For more analysis on each of these teams, check out Eric Lopez and Bryson Turner’s latest Knight Shift episode:
Contents
- Women’s Soccer Advances To Second Round Of NCAA Tournament
- Men’s Soccer Hosting FAU In NCAA First Round Match
- Volleyball Splits Week Against Cincinnati and West Virginia
- Cross Country Makes History At NCAA Regional
- Women’s Basketball Earns Bright And Early Win
- Knight of the Week: Lilian Ricol, Men’s Soccer
- Knights Play of the Week
- On Tap This Week
Women’s Soccer Advances To Second Round Of NCAA Tournament
The UCF Women’s Soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Maine, 2-0, in Orlando on Friday night.
For more about the Knights’ game against Maine and what awaits them in the second round and, potentially, beyond, click here.
Men’s Soccer Hosting FAU In NCAA First Round Match
The UCF Men’s Soccer team returned to Orlando on Monday, not just as a conference champion, but also to prepare to host an NCAA Tournament match.
The Knights will host American Conference champion Florida Atlantic on Thursday at 7 p.m. The match will be the first time these two programs have squared off since 2022.
The winner will advance to face the 7-seed Georgetown in the second round on Sunday.
With the men’s soccer team’s official berth into the NCAA Tournament, this season marks the first time since 2011 that both men’s and women’s soccer teams have made the tournament in the same season.
The Knights secured an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after securing their first-ever Sun Belt Championship on Sunday by beating #12 Marshall, 3-1. It was their first conference title since the spring 2021 season.
For more about the Knights earning their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance of the Calabrese era, click here to read Jeff Sharon and Bryson Turner’s article.
Volleyball Splits Week Against Cincinnati and West Virginia
The UCF Volleyball team was swept by the Cincinnati Bearcats (25-21, 25-19, 25-22) on Wednesday night, falling to 6-8 in conference play.
The first set was tightly contested, with the score tied at 4-4 and again at 5-5. Kills from both sides kept the match close, but attack errors from the Knights allowed the Bearcats to pull ahead 13-7 and ultimately secure the set 25-21.
The Bearcats controlled the second set from start to finish, with no lead changes throughout. Cincinnati hit for a .365 hitting percentage while their defense limited the Knights to a .175 hitting percentage, allowing the Bearcats to take the set 25-19.
The third set was a back-and-forth battle, featuring 13 tied scores and five lead changes. Tied at 17-17, Cincinnati capitalized on a service error and two attack errors by UCF to pull ahead and hold the lead, ultimately winning the set 25-22.
Outside hitter Skylar English led the Knights offensively with 10 kills, marking her eleventh match this season with double-digit kills. Middle blocker Ella Chapman notched her third consecutive match with five or more kills, posting a .500 hitting percentage.
The Knights bounced back two days later against West Virginia, sweeping the Mountaineers (25-18, 25-22, 25-20) on Friday night.
Three UCF blocks in the first set, along with seven attack errors by West Virginia, held the Mountaineers to a .000 hitting percentage. After trailing 4-6, the Knights rallied to win the set by a seven-point margin, 25-18.
The second set was neck-and-neck, with 14 tied scores and a 22-22 deadlock late in the frame. The Knights closed out the set on a 3-0 run, fueled by two consecutive kills from outside hitter Skylar English, winning 25-22.
The third set belonged entirely to UCF, with no lead changes throughout. The Knights powered their way to a 25-20 victory, hitting .239 as a team.
UCF’s offense more than doubled the Mountaineers’ output, totaling 49 kills to West Virginia’s 24. Outside hitter Avah Armour led the Knights with 17 kills, while outside hitter Reghan Thompson added 14 to support the attack.
Defensively, the Knights recorded 10 team blocks and limited West Virginia to a .065 hitting percentage. Middle blocker Ella Chapman matched her season high with six blocks, while libero Sarah Mendoza set a career high with 14 digs.
As of Nov. 16, UCF is ranked #62 in the RPI rankings, putting them just outside of the bubble for a potential at-large NCAA Tournament berth.
The Knights host their final match of the regular season on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. against #8 Arizona State.
Cross Country Makes History At NCAA Regional
The UCF Cross Country team may not have advanced out of the NCAA South Regional in Huntsville, Alabama, on Friday, but it did reach heights the program has not seen in over a decade.
The Knights finished in 13th place as a team with 404 points, marking their highest team finish in the event since 2004, beating out their 14th-place finish in 2014. Additionally, their 404 points mark a team best in the event since 2004.
Sophomore Alexandra Raquet led the way for the Knights individually, finishing in 42nd overall with a new personal best of 20:29.29. It ranks as the fifth-fastest 6K time in program history and is the best a Knight has finished in a regional as an individual since UCF Hall of Famer Anne-Marie Blaney won it back in 2016.
Behind Racquet were three other runners, sophomore Ava Quattrocchi (84th), sophomore Madison Patchan (86th) and senior Bailey McLain (101st), who also finished with new personal bests.
For the full results of the 2025 NCAA South Regional Cross Country Championship, click here.
The team will be back in action in January for the indoor Track and Field season as part of the UCF Track and Field team.
Women’s Basketball Earns Bright And Early Win
The UCF Women’s Basketball team took down FIU, 79-61, in its School Day Game on Tuesday behind roaring support in Addition Financial Arena from elementary school students across the Central Florida area.
Freshman guard Samari Bankhead finished with 13 points for her first career game scoring double-digit points. She also recorded four rebounds, four assists and the highlight of the day with a half-court heave that lit up the crowd as it swished through at the buzzer.
Eleven of Bankhead’s points came in the first half, which saw her and sophomore guard Leah Harmon team up to score 24 of the Knights’ 32 total first-half points.
After the two leading first-half scorers went cold after halftime, the Knights were led in the second half by senior guard Jacorriah Bracey with 12 points and junior center Khyala Ngodu with 10 points, helping create the cushion necessary to hold the Panthers off.
The Knights (2-1) continue their home stand on Friday against Florida A&M at 7:00 p.m.
Knight of the Week
Lilian Ricol, Men’s Soccer
The French forward earned Most Outstanding Player honors for the 2025 Sun Belt Conference tournament after scoring three goals and two assists across all three of the Knights’ tournament matches, including two in the championship match against #12 Marshall on Sunday.
Knights Play of the Week
Claudel N’goubou’s Assist To Lilian Ricol To Seal Sun Belt Title
On Tap This Week
Wednesday
- Volleyball vs. #8 Arizona State — 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
- Softball in Knights vs. ‘Nauts (Game 1) — 5:30 p.m.
Thursday
- Softball in Knights vs. ‘Nauts (Game 2) — 5:30 p.m.
- Women’s Soccer vs. 2-seed Duke (NCAA Tournament 2nd Round) — 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
- Men’s Soccer vs. Florida Atlantic (NCAA Tournament 1st Round) — 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
- Men’s Basketball vs. Pittsburgh (in Daytona Beach) — 7 p.m. (ESPN 2)
Friday
- Women’s Basketball vs. Florida A&M — 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
- Softball in Knights vs. ‘Nauts (Game 3) — 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
- Football vs. Oklahoma State — 4 p.m. (ESPN+)
