The Bulls will face eight teams that advanced to the 2022 NCAA tournament, including national runner-up Indiana and Clemson at Corbett Stadium and Washington in Seattle.
TAMPA (April 19, 2023) – University of South Florida men’s soccer head coach Bob Butehorn announced on Wednesday the Bulls’ schedule for the 2023 season, a slate that features eight opponents that took part in the 2022 College Cup, including national runner-up Indiana. Joining the Hoosiers in the postseason in 2022 were Washington (Second Round), Clemson (Second Round), Elon (First Round), SMU (Second Round), FIU (Third Round), Tulsa (Third Round) and Memphis (First Round).
South Florida’s schedule includes three home exhibition matches in addition to eight regular-season contests to be played at Corbett Stadium. The Bulls will also face four of their eight American Athletic Conference foes on its home pitch.
All of South Florida’s home matches will be streamed live on the ESPN+ platform.
Click here for the complete 2023 South Florida Men’s Soccer Schedule.
“Corbett Stadium was built to host the best of what college soccer has to offer,” said Butehorn. “Next fall will arguably be one of the best home schedules in recent years.”
Highlighting the 2023 schedule will be meetings with three of the elite teams in collegiate soccer in Washington, College Cup Finalist Indiana and Clemson, the latter two being played in Corbett Stadium. The Huskies finished last season with an impressive 15-2-3 record and a 7-1-2 record in the Pac-12. The Hoosiers posted a 14-4-7 record overall – and a 3-1-4 record in the Big 10 – before falling to Syracuse in penalty kicks, 7-6, in the national championship match, while the Tigers finished 13-7-1 and 3-4-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Three home preseason exhibition matches will get the Bulls started, beginning with Southeastern University on Aug. 10. The Green and Gold will round out the preseason schedule with the 44th Annual Mayor’s Cup/Rowdies Cup vs. the University of Tampa on Aug. 14, and then former American Athletic Conference foe Central Florida on Aug. 17.
South Florida will open the regular season with a trip to the pacific northwest as it takes on Seattle on Aug. 24 and Washington on Aug. 27, before returning home to start a season-long five-match homestand at Corbett Stadium.
The Bulls welcome Mercer to Tampa for their home opener on Sept. 1 followed by Indiana and Clemson on Sept. 8 and Sept. 12, respectively. South Florida closes out the five-match stretch with Elon on Sept. 17 and then its American Athletic Conference opener against SMU on Sept. 22.
After the home stretch, the Bulls hit the road for three straight, beginning with back-to-back in-state matches starting at Stetson on Sept. 26 and then at FIU on Sept. 30 in a rematch of the 2022 American Athletic Conference Tournament championship match. South Florida wraps up the three-match stretch when it travels to America’s Heartland to face Tulsa on Oct. 4.
The Bulls close out the regular season with three of the final five games being played on their home pitch, beginning with Charlotte on Oct. 8. After a trip to the City of Brotherly Love to face Temple on Oct. 14, South Florida will meet up with UAB on Oct. 21 at home before wrapping up the regular season at Memphis on Oct. 27 and then against Florida Atlantic at Corbett for Senior Night on Nov. 1.
The six-team American Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Championship tournament will be held Nov. 5-12 with the first round being played at on-campus sites of the higher seed (Nov. 5) and the semifinals (Nov. 9) and championship (Nov. 12) being staged at the highest remaining seed.
During the 2022 campaign, South Florida advanced to The American championship match against top-seeded FIU after defeating second-seeded SMU, 1-0, in the tournament semifinals on Nov. 10. In addition, the Bulls earned an at-large bid to its 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance defeating Hofstra in the first round, 4-2, before falling to the No. 1 overall seed, Kentucky.
South Florida finished the season 9-7-4 overall and with a 5-1-3 mark in the American Athletic Conference.
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, claimed 14 conference championships and made 22 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 3 trips to the elite eight.
The program also has a strong reputation within the professional game and boasts 30 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 19 of the past 21 years, including 13 NCAA Tournament appearances during that period.
The University of South Florida men’s soccer team was represented on the AAC postseason All-Conference Team in 2022 with two players earning honors. Both Salvatore Mazzaferro and Brian Schaefer were named to the All-Conference Second Team while Mazzaferro was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-East Region Third Team. Mazzaferro was also taken in the third round with the 72nd pick overall by Austin FC in the MLS SuperDraft.
–#GoBulls –
