The Bulls extend their unbeaten streak to five matches and are also the only undefeated team in league play in The American.
TAMPA (Oct. 9, 2022) – The University of South Florida men’s soccer team pulled off its biggest win of the season on Sunday as the Bulls defeated No. 14/21 Tulsa, 2-1, at Corbett Stadium. The win improves South Florida to 3-3-3 on the year and 2-0-2 in the American Athletic Conference while the Golden Hurricane falls to 6-2-2 overall and 2-2-1 in The American. The win also extends the Green and Gold’s unbeaten streak to five matches.
At the end of the night, the Bulls find themselves the only undefeated team in league play in The American, however, are in a tie for fourth place (eight points) with Florida Atlantic whom they tied earlier this season.
South Florida dominated Tulsa from the opening kick-off and finished the contest outshooting the Golden Hurricane, 26-8, including an impressive 10-2 advantage in shots on goal.
After a scoreless first half, the Bulls continued to keep the upper hand offensively and created considerable problems for Tulsa goalkeeper Alex Lopez. Oscar Resano had two prime opportunities in the 54’ minute to get South Florida on the board but could not convert. The first came off a pass from Marcus Victorio that Resano headed just inches over the crossbar from five yards out, while the second came just seconds later when Resano looked to take advantage of a Tulsa turnover and fired his offering from 20 yards out that was stopped by a diving Lopez.
Ajmeer Spengler then got in on the action sending a laser on goal only to send Lopez sprawling again for the save in the 62’.
Despite the Bulls’ aggressive attack during the match, it was Tulsa’s Malik Henry-Scott who got the Golden Hurricane on the board first taking a pass from Sergio Baena and beating South Florida keeper Jackson Weyman from the right side of the box to the far post to make the score 1-0. It was just Tulsa’s sixth shot of the match.
The Golden Hurricane lead, however, did not stand for long as the Bulls answered five minutes later. Once again, Victorio put a perfectly placed ball inside the box that was meant for Segun Afolabi, who outjumped everyone but was undercut resulting in a foul called on Tulsa. Alfred Perez was chosen to take South Florida’s first penalty kick of the season and buried it into the back of the goal in the 73’ to tie the match at 1-1.
Afolabi looked for the go-ahead goal in the 75’ and seemed to have it, only to be called offsides. But he only had to wait five minutes to become the hero of the night, taking a pass from beyond midfield from Shion Soga, beating a Tulsa defender, and firing the game-winner past Lopez in the 80’.
The Golden Hurricane had an opportunity with a free kick to tie the match with under a minute to play, but their offering, lofted over the wall, went off the crossbar.
Resano finished the night with a match and career-high seven shots, including a match-best three shots on goal. Afolabi also had four shots and Spengler and Perez three apiece.
Weyman ended the match with one save.
Scoring Summary
TU – Malik Henry-Scott (Sergio Baena; 67:40)
USF – Alfred Perez (Penalty Kick; 72:49)
USF – Segun Afolabi (Shion Soga; 80:19)
1 2 F
USF 0 2 2
Tulsa 0 1 1
Shots: USF 26, Tulsa 8
Shots on Goal: USF 10, Tulsa 2
Saves: USF 1, Tulsa 8
Corner Kicks: USF 7, Tulsa 3
Fouls: USF 13, Tulsa 16
Notable
- South Florida’s win over Tulsa improves its record against the Golden Hurricane to 9-5-2 all-time and 4-3-1 in matches played in Tampa … The Bulls have fallen to Tulsa in three straight matches after winning six consecutive matches against the Golden Hurricane.
- Sunday’s match against No. 14/21 Tulsa was the third of the season against a member of the Top 25 … The Bulls also faced No. 24 North Carolina (L, 1-0) and No 3/2 Washington (L, 3-0).
- In addition, South Florida’s with over the No. 14/21 Golden Hurricane was the first against a Top 25 foe since defeating No. 22 Tulsa, 2-1, on March 6, 2020, at Corbett Stadium.
- In addition to Weyman, Luca Hollenstein and Salvatore Mazzaferro played a complete 90 minutes.
- The Bulls have outshot their opposition for the seventh time in nine matches, and the fifth-straight match, and held the advantage in shots on goal for the sixth time in nine outings.
Up Next
South Florida continues its three-match homestand on Wednesday when it concludes its nonconference slate by hosting Stetson at 7 p.m. The Bulls will close out the three-match stretch on Sunday 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 –
