Lukas Miller Posted Thursday, November 20, 2025 @ 12:53 PM The UCF men’s club soccer team earned a spot in the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association national championship tournament in Overland Park, Kansas, the team announced on its Instagram on Nov. 11. The NIRSA tournament selects 24 teams from across the country to compete. The Knights have been to nationals six times in total, but this is the first time in club history to make the tournament back-to-back. Last year, the club made it to the round of 16 at the NIRSA tournament, but came up short against the future finalists, the Ohio State Buckeyes, 3-0. Mateo Hurtado, coach of the team and a senior studying economics, believes the team is going to bring home the chip. “We lost to Ohio State, who were finalists last year,” Hurtado said. “But we are winning this year, and that’s all that matters.” This year, the Knights play their first game of the tournament on Thursday against the Michigan State Spartans at 8 a.m., and then play their second game against the Oregon Ducks at 1:15 p.m. Owen Armor, the volunteer coordinator, centerback and a senior studying health sciences, said he is ecstatic for the team and believes the club has a good squad to make a run for the chip. “I’m super proud, and super relieved,” Armor said. “We have great depth with this team. We have the quality and the legs to withstand this tournament and make a great run.” Although the club has achieved this invitation, the team faced multiple trials and hardships throughout its season. The Knights played in a tournament hosted by the University of Florida, but were knocked out after facing the Gators’ A-team early. Then, the team lost against the University of Tampa. Axel Ramirez, the treasurer of the team and a junior studying mechanical engineering, said that the Knights didn’t start hitting their stride until midway through the season. “I think we finally found our rhythm the first game of our regionals, that first game against UNC, we played fantastic,” Ramirez said. “We dominated the whole game, and we just came on top after that huge victory.” Ramirez said the lack of familiarity between the team members held them back for a moment in their season, but has provided the Knights with a fresh platform to succeed on. “Last year we had a team that was playing together for almost two years prior,” Ramirez said. “This year, we have so many new players and we’ve had to find ways to integrate them into the team which has allowed us to have a bigger connection with each other.” Nicholas Pereira, a sophomore majoring in health sciences and centerback for the Knights, said he’s excited to go to his first-ever national tournament. “Honestly, I’m ecstatic that the team has gotten the chance to make nationals,” Pereira said. “I know that all the boys here are seeing this as a chance to really make a name for ourselves.” Pereira smiled from ear to ear when asked about how he feels about the chance to play at this level. “I will be traveling with the team, but even though I’m not starting, I really want this for us,” Pereira said. “I’m pumped to be able to play and see our guys do well.” David Prepetit, a sophomore striker studying finance, said he joined the club last year, and there is something special about this new team. “This feels good, I kind of joined late in the fall last year, so I wasn’t really a part of that nationals run,” Prepetit said. “The major difference between this year and last was there is much more chemistry with this year’s team, and the energy is very high.” Cade Greenwald, one of the team’s seniors majoring in biochemistry and center midfielder, is super proud of the squad. “Going to nationals once is a great thing, but going twice in the four years I’ve been here is awesome,” Greenwald said. “Being able to go to nationals with this team is such a great thing.” Greenwald grinned as he was asked how much he thinks the team has grown over the semester. “Half the team from last year left, and we had to adjust to that,” Greenwald said. “Now going into nationals, we have this new mentality and chemistry to help us go even further.” Read the official article here. Back