They’ve been toiling in the shadow of Florida and Florida State in the SELC’s Southeast Division, but Central Florida could be on the verge of breaking through to the conference tournament.

Do the Knights have what it takes this year to get to the next level? UCF head coach James Foote joins MCLA.us to take a stroll down the “5 Questions” red carpet.

MCLA: Last year a lot of production came out of the midfield, but it looks the attack is bringing a lot back from ’15. Do you see the frontline being larger producers this year?

JF: Absolutely. 2014 and 2015 were my second and third years at UCF, respectively. During that time, we experienced a world of growing pains as culture was defined and new schemes were implemented. The majority of our depth has been at the midfield over the course of the last two seasons and that has shown in the stat book. Now with greater depth and talent, we expect a very significant increase in production from the attack. I think that teams will struggle to slow this unit down, regardless of the trio that emerges as the starting group.

MCLA: The Southeast Division of the SELC is a bear, but the Knights have been one or two goals away from qualifying for the conference playoffs the past two seasons. Is this the year UCF gets over the hump?

JF: This question has been looming over our program for nearly a decade. Having played at UCF in the early 2000s and now coaching here, I want nothing more than to put this to rest in 2016. In 2014, we lost a heartbreaker to Florida State at home, losing 17-15 in a barn burner after owning a significant lead early on. In 2015, we took the first quarter off against Florida and let the Gators take a 5-1 lead going into the second period, eventually falling 8-7.

The responsibility falls on me to ensure that we play four complete quarters every time that we take the field. Now in my fourth year at UCF, I believe that our clearly defined culture is the ideal foundation for winning the region outright. Our goal is to control our own destiny all the way to Atlanta and to keep from having to watch the scoreboard in April hoping for some help. We have a great team and anything short of 4-0 in the region will be a disappointment.

MCLA: Austin Armstrong was key part of your defense last year, but now you have to find a new goalie to lean on. What’s the competition looking like to fill his spot? What about the other open close defender spots?

JF: The goalkeeper position has been an absolute battle this fall amongst three exceptional keepers. Junior Scott Cheadle (West Boca HS) leads the pack going into the spring, but sophomore transfer Daniel Harris (University School) from Indiana University and freshman Chris Cacciatore (Melbourne Central Catholic) are right on his heels. I love seeing the friendly competition between these guys and am looking forward to seeing who wants the starting job the most in January.

We return five long sticks from last year's roster and have gained five additional defenders, both freshmen and transfers. We have also beefed up at defensive midfield and have the most complete defensive unit since I arrived on campus in 2013. We have had some very special players at defense in the past, but this unit is scary good. Junior Patrick Celentano (Timber Creek HS) and junior transfer Zachary Price (Coker College/Providence School) will anchor this defense along with junior Justin Schwartz (Manhattan College/Barron Collier HS) and senior Steven Thompson (Gulliver Prep). I expect Defensive Coordinator Justin Vercruysse to have some fun with this group and really give some teams a hard time.

MCLA: Last year, you played half your schedule before the calendar turned to March. Will that be the case again this year and who are some of the non-conference teams on the docket?

JF: In the past, we have been a victim of what I call "schedule elitism," with the blame falling solely on ourselves. Being an unranked team in the SELC isn't exactly what attracts the best teams in the country to this neck of the woods. Coupled with a minuscule travel budget, we have had to take games where we could get them. This season, we have a greater balance to our schedule, but it won't be easy. We open the season on the road in Baton Rouge where we will face two talented out-of-conference teams from the Lone Star Alliance in TCU and LSU.

We follow that up less than a week later with our home opener against a ranked Florida State team and a talented South Carolina squad two days later. We have a brutal stretch in March, hosting five teams in 11 days against the likes of UConn, Virginia Tech and Texas State – all very dangerous opponents. Seventy-two hours after playing Texas State, we take our show on the road up to Gainesville to face the Gators in a pivotal SELC Southeast regional contest. The beauty of our schedule this year is that we will host eight home games, the most since 2012, and three are against ranked opponents. In my previous three seasons at UCF, we have only had 11 home games total.

Here is our schedule:

MCLA: Who are some of the newcomers and/or under-the-radar guys who you envision taking a bigger role this year?

JF: We will have roughly 25 freshmen and transfers on the roster this spring, many of which will be big-time contributors. I previously mentioned Daniel Harris and Zachary Price, but we will also look to freshmen Rylan Kortus (Oviedo HS) and Frank Strobl (Oviedo HS) along with sophomore transfer Mark Smith (Oviedo HS/Florida) and senior Bryant Santana (Colonial HS/Florida Southern) to make a splash among the newcomers.

Among the returners, we expect Nick Poidomani, Logan Mahlock and Drew Meldrum to lead the attack while Patrick Shea will be big in the midfield and a healthy Justin Schwartz should bolster our defense. We will be fielding a fantastic squad in 2016 and I hope Knights fans are as excited as I am to see these guys in action. Charge On!