Jeffrey “JT” Copper and Shion Soga both score as the Bulls extend their unbeaten streak to four matches.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Oct. 5, 2022) – The University of South Florida men’s soccer team extended its unbeaten streak to four matches on Wednesday night but not the way it had hoped to, playing to a 2-2 draw with UAB at PNC Field in Birmingham, Ala. USF did so despite dominating the Blazers for 90 minutes of play.
The Bulls move to 2-3-3 on the year and 1-0-2 in the American Athletic Conference, while the Blazers, one of four new members of The American, are now 2-6-2 overall and 0-2-2 in league play.
South Florida dominated play on both the offensive and defensive ends of the pitch outshooting UAB, 15-6, including a 9-3 shot margin in the first half, and 7-3 in shots on goal on the night. The Bulls also had all eight corner kicks taken in the match.
Jeffrey “JT” Copper got the Bulls on the board first in the 34’ beating the Blazers’ goalkeeper Jack Hudson, the reigning AAC Goalkeeper of the Week, off an assist from Jemone Barclay. It was the first goal of the season for Copper and the first career assist for Barclay. That goal stood through the rest of the first half.
The Bulls came out in the second stanza and had three solid chances all coming in the 56’, including an offering by Shion Soga that sent Hudson diving for the save, but South Florida was unable to beat the UAB netminder.
The Blazers took advantage a minute later when Nathaniel St. Louis was fouled in the box and given a penalty kick in the 57’. St. Louis stepped to the spot and beat South Florida’s Jackson Weyman to the low left corner to even the match.
In the 67’ minute, however, Copper was issued a red card forcing the Bulls to play a man down for the final 23 minutes of the contest. It didn’t take the Bulls long to shake off the adversity as Marcus Victorio served up a pass to Soga who beat Hudson in the 67’ to put the Green and Gold back on top.
South Florida seemingly had just one hurdle to overcome with that coming in the 89’ when St. Louis was fouled a yard outside and at the top of the box, giving the Blazers a free kick in the closing moments of the match. The kick was blocked by the Bulls’ wall but UAB eventually regained possession with enough time for one final push that resulted with Zsombor Kalnoki-Kis finding Brooks Rice for the equalizer with five seconds left on the clock.
Scoring Summary
USF – Jeffrey “JT” Copper (Jemone Barclay; 34:02)
UAB – Nathaniel St. Louis (Penalty Kick; 57:22)
USF – Shion Soga (Marcus Victorio; 65:29)
UAB – Brooks Rice (Zsombor Kalnoki-Kis; 89:55)
1 2 F
USF 1 1 2
UAB 0 2 2
Shots: USF 15, UAB 6
Shots on Goal: USF 7, UAB 3
Saves: USF 1, UAB 5
Corner Kicks: USF 8, UAB 0
Fouls: USF 13, UAB 23
Notable
- South Florida’s draw with UAB moves its record over the Blazers to 11-5-1 all-time and 4-3-1 in matches played in Birmingham … The Bulls are unbeaten in three of the last four matches in the series.
- In addition to Weyman, Luca Hollenstein, Salvatore Mazzaferro and Brian Schaefer also played a complete 90 minutes.
- The Bulls have outshot their opposition for the sixth time in eight matches, and the fourth-straight match, and held the advantage in shots on goal for the fifth time in eight outings.
- Lovro Kostanjsek had a match and career-high-tying three shots against UAB.
- Jackson Weyman finished the night with one save on six shots faced.
Up Next
South Florida returns to Corbett Stadium on Sunday at 7 p.m. to face No. 14/21 Tulsa in the first match of a three-match homestand. The Bulls will also take on Stetson, in its final nonconference match of the year, on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. before closing out the stretch on Oct. 16 at 6 p.m. against FIU.
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 –
