The UCF men’s soccer team hug each other during the Sun Belt Tournament opener against James Madison on Nov. 10 in Huntington, West Virginia.
The UCF men’s soccer team hug each other during the Sun Belt Tournament opener against James Madison on Nov. 10 in Huntington, West Virginia.
The UCF men’s soccer program has been increasing its performance and it has achieved a 44-16-11 record at home under head coach Scott Calabrese.
The success of the team however, is not only measured by the wins and losses, but also on the success of alumni who used to play for the team and who are now in the pros.
Meet the players: The unique paths that led them to UCF
Gino Vivi is a UCF alumni playing for Deportivo Saprissa, a club in Costa Rica. He is currently on a loan since his professional contract is with LA Galaxy. Vivi played at UCF as a forward from 2019 to 2022.
“During my experience over there, living in Orlando, being able to practice every day at the facilities at the best weather and just with the guys and just being there day by day was the best routine that I had, and it was unbelievable,” Vivi said.
Vivi said he was recruited by Paul Souders, the associate head coach at the time when he traveled to Costa Rica to watch him and his teammates play. Vivi said having received the offer to play at UCF changed his life.
“It was a change in my life to go to UCF and how the years that I was there, I was able to change and make my dreams become true because that was the main reason why I left Costa Rica, was to try a different path to make it to professional soccer,” Vivi said.
Louis Perez is a current player for North Carolina F.C. and previously, Perez played for Pittsburgh and Tucson. Perez played for UCF as a midfielder from 2017 to 2021.
Perez was recruited by Calabrese in France when the coach traveled to a city that is two hours and a half away from Paris, he said.
“He came to see us and presented the UCF project and everything and that’s how I came, he convinced us, and here I am seven years later,” Perez said.
Nick Taylor was part of the roster of the UCF men’s soccer team during the 2021 fall semester. Now he plays for the Preah Khan Reach Svay Rieng F.C., a Cambodian team, and was previously drafted by the Orlando City to play for the “B team,” and he spent a year playing for the team. He was a student at UCF for one semester in the fall 2021.
“I graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, which is where I’m originally from,” Taylor said. “I was born in Dallas and then I came to UCF for my COVID year, like COVID gave us an extra year of eligibility, because the season wasn’t able to progress.”
Taylor said he was a little bit concerned to come to UCF because SMU and UCF were rivals.
“UCF and SMU were rivals at the time so it was kind of like a risky move, but after talking to the coaching staff, it was the right fit,” Taylor said. “And then coming into UCF, they welcomed me in as family and it was probably the best football or soccer environment that I’ve been in my entire career.”
During their journey at UCF
Vivi said he enjoyed his experience at UCF since he had access to many opportunities.
“UCF has the tools and abilities to end the program to build you, and give you those important stuff to put you closer to that dream that you can have,” Vivi said.
Vivi also said he made long lasting friendships with his teammates, the coaches and other athletes.
“Fortunately, the coaches and all my teammates during those years helped me get to that and I’m super thankful, and it’s been the best experience so far in my life,” Vivi said.
Perez said one of the things that helped him in his journey was the high athletic level and training of the university.
“Obviously, UCF is a high-level environment, we’re going to push and prepare players and people to go and play in the pros,” Perez said.
Perez also said that the support from the staff and the program was not only soccer wise but life wise, and it helped him to develop not only as a great player but as a great human being.
“It was also on the outside of the field, how to deal with life, how to deal with adversity, how UCF is a big family,” Perez said.
From UCF to the pros
Vivi was drafted while he was in Washington D.C. waiting for his family to visit him. According to the LA Galaxy, the official signing of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft pick was on April 24, 2023.
“It was an unbelievable feeling when I was just watching it on YouTube,” Vivi said. “Literally, I was on the ground and on pick 23 on the first round LA Galaxy picked me.”
Vivi said he was really happy because it was something he has been working on for years.
“I had no idea they were going to select me, but I was the happiest because it was something that for almost four years I fought for it,” Vivi said. “I dreamed about it and it was really special.”
Perez said when he signed the contract with Pittsburgh it was very special.
“It’s a lot of accomplishment and just, obviously you want to last as long as you can when you’re in the pro, but the first contract is always special,” Perez said.
Taylor said he was chosen by Orlando City in the MLS draft, and he played there for a year in the reserve team.
Taylor said the level of responsibility was higher in the professional leagues.
“You’re dealing with adults who have families who come from very, very unique backgrounds and you can say, like, if they didn’t play soccer professionally, like, where would they be, what would their life be,” Taylor said.
How did UCF prepare these athletes to become pros?
Perez said the adversity management taught by UCF staff and teammates helped him to deal with stress, and its top athletic program helped him.
“Anything can happen at any moment, and you just need to be ready, and so that’s how UCF prepared me the best I would say again, just obviously, the level of play and everything is, for me, it is obvious UCF is a top program in that sense,” Perez said.
Taylor said the creativity in the strategies from Calabrese helped him to be more dynamic. However, at Orlando City the coach had another kind of approach, he said.
“It was different in that way, you know, like we have some players go and some other players come in and then when we come to the match day, like we always have a different team, never the same players,” Taylor said.
Taylor also said the emphasis changed depending on the needs of the team.
“I think for the reserve team, there wasn’t so much of an emphasis on winning, it’s more about developing the players,” Taylor said.
Vivi said what has supported him to keep going in the professional team has been the values his coaches and teammates taught him at UCF.
“To always be resilient, to always be a good teammate, to be a good person first and and just carry that through,” Vivi said.
Advice to current players
Perez said one of the biggest pieces of advice is to listen to the coaches.
“Listen to the coaches, listen to Paul, listen to Scott,” Perez said.
Taylor said that his recommendation for the current players is to focus on their career if they want to play professionally.
“If your goal is to play professional, if your goal is to play beyond college, whether that’s in the U.S., it’s in Europe, it’s in Asia wherever, you have to take every training session seriously,” Taylor said. “You have to treat it like it’s your job.”
Vivi said it is important to enjoy the time at the program.
“Try to take every single day to enjoy, not take every day for granted, no matter if you’re being successful with the program or not, UCF program as a soccer program and they deserve to be at the top every single year,” Vivi said. “But my message is more from a person’s standpoint of just enjoy every single experience that UCF overall gives you because it’s the best thing that can happen to someone’s life for sure.”
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