Owls Ready for NCAA Tournament Debut

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Atlantic men's soccer (12-3-2) squares off with UCF (10-6-3) in the NCAA Tournament First Round on Thursday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

ABOUT THE OWLS

The Owls are in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
Mamadou Diarra scored twice in the American Conference Championship to bring his season total to eight.
The two-time American Conference Offensive Player of the Year has 16 goals and 46 points in 33 games at FAU.
Diarra was named Most Outstanding Offensive Player in the American Conference Tournament.
Fabrizio Cubeddu was named Most Outstanding Defensive Player.
Cubeddu has played right back, center mid, and center back this season... his first start at center back was in the semifinals vs. Tulsa (a 3-0 shutout).
GK Alfred Mikkelsen needs one clean sheet to set the program single season record.
With one more win, the Owls would tie the 1996 team for most wins in a season (13).

ABOUT THE KNIGHTS

The Knights finished fifth in the Sun Belt regular season before winning three straight in the conference tournament to earn the league's automatic bid.
Lilian Ricol leads the team with 12 goals and 28 points.
Juanvi Muñoz has started all 19 games in goal and has recorded six clean sheets.
This will be UCF's 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

SERIES HISTORY

The Owls and the Knights last met in 2022 when both teams were members of the American Conference.
Florida Atlantic won that matchup 2-1. UCF had won the previous four meetings.

WHAT'S NEXT

The winner on Thursday will travel to Washington, D.C. to play No. 7 Georgetown on Sunday, November 23.

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Players Mentioned

Fabrizio Cubeddu

Mamadou Diarra

Alfred Mikkelsen

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Men's Soccer at UCF on November 20, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Florida Atlantic University Athletics