The Bulls will honor Sal Mazzaferro, Sergio Pineros-Mayorga, Gabrielle Privitera and Jackson Weyman before the match for Senior Night.
MATCH 14 | FRI. OCT. 28, 2022 | 7 P.M. | CORBETT STADIUM, TAMPA, FLA.
USF BULLS | 4-5-4 (3-1-3, AAC)
Last Game: Oct. 21 at Charlotte, W, 2-1
Next Game: Nov. 2 at UCF, 7 p.m.
Head Coach: Bob Butehorn
Career Record: 168-137-41 (20th season)
At USF: 38-39-13 (Sixth season)
MEMPHIS TIGERS | 7-3-4 (4-2-1, AAC)
Last Game: Oct. 22 vs. FAU, W, 2-0
Next Game: Nov. 2 vs. UAB, 7 p.m.
Head Coach: Richard Mulrooney
Career Record: 50-67-21 (Ninth Season)
At Memphis: Same
By Joey Johnston
TAMPA (Oct. 27, 2022) – It was the most improbable, dramatic men’s soccer match of this season — or any season. When it was done, USF coach Bob Butehorn looked for someone to hug and lift in the air. All he found was immovable 250-pound goalkeeper coach William Chiles. By then, a couple of players had jumped on Butehorn’s back
When Tuesday night’s jaw-dropping road victory was complete — USF Bulls 2, No. 22-ranked Charlotte 1 — Butehorn said it was as if everything had downshifted into slow motion.
Brian Schaefer, on a throw-in from the corner, whipped the pass of his life high into the box as the clock wound under 10 seconds.
Oscar Resano, floating on air as usual, leaped above the sandwiching Charlotte defenders, timing it perfectly, and flicked it off his head and into the vacated back-corner net, crossing up the 49er goalkeeper, who was guarding the near post.
Four seconds remained.
“I’m a big believer in creating your own luck and that hard work and perseverance always wins,’’ Butehorn said. “This was completely intuitive execution by our guys. Everyone in the place was thinking it was a tie, so maybe they (Charlotte) had taken their foot off the gas a bit. I see this beautiful pass, this perfectly timed header and the ball going in … and all I can think is, ‘No way that just happened.’ ‘’
“I honestly just threw it as far as I could, then stood there and watched,’’ Schaefer said. “You’re just trying to create some havoc in the box. You’re just hoping. I saw the pass coming down, I saw Oscar going up and I thought, ‘This has a chance.’ ‘’
“The guy (Schaefer) could have been a quarterback,’’ said the 6-foot-2 Resano, whose 35-inch vertical routinely puts him above the ring on a basketball goal, although he has never attempted to dunk. “That ball was perfect. It was insane. It was right on me and I kind of redirected it with my head. I was looking right at the (Charlotte) keeper and he had a stunned look on his face. I knew it was in. And I was immediately like, ‘Oh my gosh! Let’s go! Let’s go!’ ‘’
In a way, it seemed like soccer justice for the star-crossed Bulls (4-5-4 overall, 3-1-3 in the American Athletic Conference), who remain in an impossible-to-predict death struggle for one of the league’s six top spots and a berth in the AAC Tournament.
When the season began, USF didn’t score a goal in any of its first four matches, while taking on the likes of perennial power North Carolina and Washington, which has become the nation’s top-ranked team. But heading into Friday’s home Senior Night match against the Memphis Tigers at Corbett Stadium, the Bulls have finally found their rhythm. Now they are finishers.
Another victory would be the best salute for USF seniors Sergio Pineros-Mayorga, Salvatore Mazzaferro, Gabrielle Privitera and Jackson Weyman.
“We don’t have a lot of time to celebrate because we need to keep winning,’’ Butehorn said. “Of course, you win a game like that (against Charlotte) and people are going to notice. Michael Kelly (USF’s vice president of athletics) asked if I ever had won that way in my coaching career. I honestly can’t remember something like that.
“I know we’ve been bitten by something like that this season (UAB forged a tie in the 89th minute and Stetson won in the 90th minute). Having been on both sides of it, I’ll definitely take the winning side. I told our guys it was a fantastic win against a really good team. Our guys worked hard, believed in their abilities and got it done. They deserved to win.’’
Schaefer said he could hardly sleep. He was still invigorated the next morning on the trip home, especially when neutral airport onlookers asked USF players, “Did you guys win?’’
“It’s still kind of a combination of disbelief and happiness,’’ Schaefer said. “But it makes us so eager for the games we have left. It’s like this big boost of confidence.’’
Resano said he has been inundated by text messages from family, friends and former teammates in his native Mexico City. Everyone has been enthused and amazed by the video highlight. Resano said he’s urging restraint for everyone. The best, he said, is yet to come.
“We’ve worked pretty hard to get to this point,’’ Resano said. “We’ve had injuries, struggles and really some bad luck. Now I think it might be going our way for a change. People keep talking about making it into the (AAC) Tournament. We had our goals higher than that. If we get our stuff together, we can win this thing. Why not?’’
Why not, indeed? After the turbo-boost created by an improbably dramatic finish, the Bulls can suddenly see a world of new possibilities.
“We’ll never forget how we beat Charlotte,’’ Schaefer said. “But we don’t want it to stop there.’’
CATCH THE BULLS ON BULLS UNLIMITED
– All of USF’s home regular-season matches will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform … The American Athletic Conference and ESPN began a new 12-year television rights agreement which started in 2020-21 … Subscriptions for the ESPN+ app are $6.99 monthly or $69.99 annually and can be packaged with Hulu and Disney+ streaming services.
– In addition, 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.
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 –
