The Bulls have three players find the back of the net; Takase records four saves and his second shutout in return.
PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 9, 2021) – The University of South Florida men’s soccer team got the breakout performance that it had been looking for as the Bulls recorded a 3-0 win over Temple on Saturday night at the Temple Sports Complex. South Florida improves to 3-6-1 on the year and 1-4 in the American Athletic Conference, while the Owls fall to 2-6-2 overall and 0-5 in The American.
The Bulls put tremendous pressure on Temple in what was a crucial conference matchup and made things difficult for the Owls from the opening kickoff. Segun Afolabi took a pass from Shion Soga in the 6’ minute and sent a header just over the fingertips of Temple goalkeeper, Liam Cummings, only to have the attempt skim off the crossbar.
It didn’t take long before the duo of Afolabi and Soga connected again and this time the Bulls found the back of the net. Soga came down the right side of the pitch and sent a cross into the box, that found Afolabi’s right foot and he proceeded to send it past Cummings in the 12’ to make the score 1-0.
South Florida continued to dominate for the remainder of the first stanza after Temple received a red card for a hard cleat-up tackle on Richard Laval in the 32’. The Bulls took advantage of playing a man-up as they
capped the half off with a Jeffrey “JT” Copper goal in the 44’. Copper made the Owls pay when defenders didn’t pick him up as he dribbled towards to top middle of the box and fired a bending left-footer past Cummings to give the Bulls a 2-0 lead entering the break.
The Green and Gold struck again early in the second half as Henrique Gallina got back on the scoresheet for the first time since the season-opener against Jacksonville on Aug. 26 in the 51’. Gallina netted his third goal of the year off a free-kick, bending the offering past the wall and just inside the near post.
South Florida continued to have opportunities as the clock ran down, but the trio of scores was all the Bulls needed.
In his first action since Sept, 6, against Clemson, due to an injury, Kazuna Takase recorded four saves in his second career shutout.
Scoring Summary
USF – Segun Afolabi (Shion Soga; 12:00)
USF – Jeffrey “JT” Copper (Unassisted; 43:53)
USF – Henrique Gallina (Unassisted; 51:31)
1 2 F
USF 2 1 3
Temple 0 0 0
Shots: USF 13, TU 8
Shots on Goal: USF 6, TU 4
Saves: USF 4, TU 3
Corner Kicks: USF 9, TU 5
Fouls: USF 12, TU 13
Notable
- South Florida improves its record against Temple to 7-3-1 and 4-2-1 in Philadelphia.
- The victory for the Bulls snaps a four-match losing streak
- Kazuna Takase’s shutout is the second of his career, with his only other clean sheet coming at Florida Gulf Coast in a 0-0 tie on Sept. 2.
- Segun Afolabi and Henrique Gallina each recorded a match-high three shots, with Gallina logging a match-best three shots on goal.
Up Next
The Bulls return to Corbett Stadium on Friday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. against Memphis on Breast Cancer Awareness Night. The meeting with the Tigers begins a short two-match homestand that will end on Oct. 22 when No. 10/8 SMU visits Corbett.
