USF Dominates Jacksonville, 4-1, in Season-Opener

Henrique Gallina records a career-high five-point night in the win over the Dolphins.

TAMPA (Aug. 26, 2021) – The University of South Florida men’s soccer team began its second regular season of the calendar year on Thursday night looking to get off to a fast start after a spring season that saw USF ravaged by season-ending injuries and players leaving for Major League Soccer. It is, however, safe to say that the Bulls found that extra gear jumping all over Jacksonville, 4-1, in the season-opener for both sides. 

Henrique Gallina (Atibaia, Brazil) recorded career highs with five points and two goals, in addition to one assist, in the win, on just four shots. Three of his shots came on goal.

In addition, Shion Soga (Aichi, Japan) and Oscar Resano (Mexico City, Mexico) each logged one goal and an assist on the night. 

South Florida dominated the contest from the opening whistle against the Dolphins, taking a 3-0 lead into the locker room at the break, and leading in shots 10-2, including an 8-0 advantage in shots on goal.

Soga began the stretch of three highlight-reel goals with a header off an offering from Jeffrey “JT” Copper (Tampa, Fla.) in the 16’ of play.

After several near misses midway through the first half, Gallina took a pass from Resano, and cut back on the Jacksonville defender, beating Dolphin goalkeeper Matt Levy on the near post in the 38’ for his first of two goals.

Resano then found the back of the net just four minutes later off the Gallina helper, with a lofting chip shot over and out of the reach of Levy just before the intermission.

In the second half, Jacksonville finally got on the board in the 55’ on a goal by Reed Davis, barely beating USF keeper Ralph Montero who got his first career start in the Green and Gold.

Gallina, however, retaliated quickly, netting his second goal on the night with another vicious move on the defender and a blast to the low right corner, past Levy, in the 60’; the assist courtesy of Josh Gomina (Sampa, Ghana).

On the night, the Bulls never took their foot off the Dolphins – who are the defending Atlantic Sun Conference champions and advanced to the NCAA Tournament – out shooting JU, 17-6 on the night, and a commanding 10-2 in shots on frame.

Montero made one save on the night and took advantage of the solid defense in front of him.

Scoring Summary

USF– Shion Soga (Jeffrey “JT” Copper; 16:15)

USF – Henrique Gallina (Oscar Resano, Shion Soga; 38:22)

USF – Oscar Resano (Henrique Gallina; 42:19)

JU – Reed Davis (Jose Manzo; 55:15)

USF – Henrique Gallina (Josh Gomina; 60:06)

                               1              2              F

USF                       3              1              4           

JU                           0              1              1

Shots: USF 17, JU 6

Shots on Goal: USF 10, JU 2

Saves: USF 1, JU 5

Corner Kicks: USF 4, JU 4

Fouls: USF 11, JU 16

Notable

  • USF continued its domination over Jacksonville in the all-time series, improving to 35-9-2 … The Bulls are 6-1-1 in their last eight matches and 12-4-1 in their last 17 matches with the Dolphins.
  • Ralph Montero got the start for the Bulls in his first career collegiate match.
  • Thursday marked Shion Soga’s first multi-point match of his collegiate career with his goal and an assist.
  • Like Soga, Oscar Resano logged his first multi-point outing with his marker and helper.
  • Josh Gomina earned his first career start for the Bulls, netting an assist in his complete match 90 minutes.
  • Six players played 90 minutes against Jacksonville on Thursday; Montero, Gomina, Sal Mazzaferro, Richard Laval, Donovan Hesselmeyer, and Brian Schaefer. 

Up Next

The Bulls close out their short season-opening two-match homestand on Sunday at 7 p.m. when UNC Wilmington visits Corbett Stadium on Bark with the Bulls Night.

Fans can purchase tickets to USF men’s soccer home matches by calling 1-800-GoBulls or at USFBullsTix.com.
 
All home matches this season, will be broadcast live on either Bulls Unlimited or Bulls Unlimited 2 with Darek Sharp on the call. Both stations are available via the iHeart Radio app (search “USF”) and provide static-free quality whether you’re listening on your streaming device, laptop, or desktop.

In addition to Bulls Unlimited, all of USF’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.

USF Soccer concluded the 2020 season with four players earning AAC honors, highlighted by first first-team selection Josue Monge and Salvatore Mazzaferro who was tabbed a second-team selection. Also, Oscar Resano and Brian Schaefer were named to the American Athletic Conference All-Rookie Team. Head coach Bob Butehorn returns to lead USF in his fifth season on the sidelines.

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