The Bulls now set their sights on American Athletic Conference play for their next five matches starting at FAU on Sept. 16.
TAMPA (Sept. 9, 2022) – The University of South Florida men’s soccer team picked up its first win of 2022 on Friday night with an impressive 2-0 victory over visiting Mercer on a mostly rainy evening at Corbett Stadium.
The Bulls (1-3-1) dominated the Bears (2-1-2) while handing them their first loss of the season, outscoring Mercer, 16-7, including a commanding 9-3 margin in shots on goal. After just eight total shots in the first half –8-3 in favor of South Florida – the Green and Gold turned it up offensively during the second 45 minutes outshooting its visitors, 11-4.
Ajmeer Spengler got the scoring going with the Bulls’ first goal of the season with what was intended to be a cross into the box to Oscar Resano. The ball, however, found its way to the far post and into the back of the goal. It was Spengler’s first goal in a Bulls uniform after transferring from Stetson after the 2021 season.
In the second half, South Florida had several chances to put the ball past Mercer goalkeeper Trevor McMullin but it wasn’t until the 82’ when Alex Sannes finally beat the Bears’ netminder off assists from Shion Soga and Josh Gomina to extend the lead to its final score of 2-0.
Jackson Weyman made three saves on the night and recorded his second shutout of the season and the fourth of his career, including his time at Marquette.
Spengler had match-highs of four shots and three shots on goal, while five other players added two shots apiece for the Bulls.
Scoring Summary
USF – Ajmeer Spengler (Unassisted; 13:56)
USF – Alex Sannes (Shion Soga, Josh Gomina; 81:44)
1 2 F
USF 1 1 2
Mercer 0 0 0
Shots: USF 16, MU 7
Shots on Goal: USF 9, MU 3
Saves: USF 3, MU 7
Corner Kicks: USF 5, MU 3
Fouls: USF 10, MU 8
Notable
- South Florida’s win over Mercer improves its record in the all-time series to 5-0 … All five matches have taken place in Tampa.
- Ajmeer Spengler’s first-half goal 13:56 into the match against Mercer ended a 373:56 scoreless stretch to start the season for the Bulls.
- Resano, Soga, Sannes, Marcus Victorio and Lovro Kostanjsek all had two shots on the night for the Bulls.
- In addition to Weyman, five players logged a complete 90 minutes against the Bears, including, Luca Hollenstein, Sal Mazzaferro, Takeru Moriyama and Brian Schaefer.
Up Next
South Florida now begins a five-match American Athletic Conference stretch, beginning on Sept. 16 at Florida Atlantic with kickoff set for 7 p.m. The Bulls’ AAC home opener is Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. against Temple.
Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-GoBulls or at Ticketmaster.
All home matches this season will be broadcast live on USF Bulls Unlimited, with Darek Sharp on the call. Bulls Unlimited is available via the free Tune In app (search “Bulls Unlimited”) and provides static-free quality whether you’re listening on your streaming device, laptop or desktop.
In addition to Bulls Unlimited, all of South Florida’s home regular season matches will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform. Subscriptions for the ESPN+ app are $6.99 monthly or $69.99 annually and can be packaged with Hulu and Disney+ streaming services. A step-by-step guide for subscribing to ESPN+ is located here.
About USF Men’s Soccer
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USF Men’s Soccer competed in the school’s first ever intercollegiate athletic contest on Sept. 25, 1965, beating Florida Southern 4-3. Since then, the oldest program on campus has built a winning tradition, claiming 14 conference championships and making 21 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 3 trips to the elite eight.
The program also has a strong reputation within the professional game and boasts 29 MLS draft picks. Notable alumni include two-time MLS Golden Boot winner Jeff Cunningham, USA 1994 World Cup star Roy Wegerle, and 2013 MLS Cup winner Dom Dwyer.
The Bulls have advanced to the postseason in 18 of the past 20 years, including 12 NCAA Tournament appearances during that period.
The University of South Florida men’s soccer team was well represented on the AAC postseason All-Conference Team in 2021 with four players earning honors. Highlighting the Bulls’ honorees was the American Athletic Conference Co-Goalkeeper of the Year, Kazuna Takase, along with first-team selection Shion Soga. In addition, Takase was also selected to the All-Conference Second Team along with Salvatore Mazzaferro, and Josh Gomina was named to the AAC All-Rookie Team.
–#GoBulls –
