The Bulls will face No. 2-seeded SMU on Thursday at 4 p.m. at FIU Soccer Stadium in Miami.
TAMPA (Nov. 6, 2022) – The No. 3-seeded University of South Florida men’s soccer team won its fourth-straight match on Sunday night with a hard-fought, 2-1 victory over sixth-seeded Charlotte at Corbett Stadium. With the victory, the Bulls advanced to the American Athletic Conference semifinal round on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the FIU Soccer Stadium in Miami where they will face No. 2-seeded SMU.
South Florida improved to 7-5-4 on the year while Charlotte fell to 9-5-2 overall. The Bulls, who have proven to be one of the hottest teams in collegiate soccer, are unbeaten in 10 of their last 12 matches dating to a Sept. 9 win over Mercer (2-0).
Charlotte started the scoring off when Matthew Kirk took a pass from Kameron Lacey and sent a one-timer past South Florida goalkeeper Jackson Weyman in the 25′ to put the 49ers up 1-0.
It didn’t take long, however, for South Florida to retaliate as Ajmeer Spengler got the equalizer in the 30′. Spengler, who came into the contest tied for the team lead in points with Oscar Resano with eight, took a pass from Nicolas Scargle, wove in and out of defenders, and fired a shot to the back post from 18 yards out to tie the match.
Gabrielle Privitera gave the Bulls another solid chance in the 39′ on a set piece from about 30 yards out, sending an offering deep into the box that went just over the fingers of a jumping Sebastian Cutler-DeJesus and off the post.
The two sides eventually went to the break tied at one-all.
Charlotte came out in the second half and looked to take the lead quickly when Brigham Larsen had a point-blank opportunity from two yards out only to be denied by Weyman one minute into the half.
But it was Resano who gave South Florida the edge in the 48′ when he took advantage of a 49ers’ turnover – a ball that was passed directly to him – and fired a shot from 22 yards out and past Cutler-DeJesus for the lead and the game-winner, his second of the season.
Weyman and the South Florida backline dug in for the remainder of the contest fighting off Charlotte, who played the aggressor in the final 45 minutes. The 49ers had 13 of their 16 shots in the second half, including four of their five shots on goal, however, Weyman stood tall and made two point-blank saves that made the difference in the contest.
Weyman finished the night with four saves.
Scoring Summary
CHAR – Matthew Kirk (Kameron Lacey; 24:51)
USF – Ajmeer Spengler (Nicolas Scargle; 30:09)
USF – Oscar Resano (Unassisted; 47:49)
1 2 F
USF 1 1 2
CHAR 1 0 0
Shots: USF 14, CHAR 16
Shots on Goal: USF 3, CHAR 5
Saves: USF 4, CHAR 1
Corner Kicks: USF 7, CHAR 5
Fouls: USF 17, CHAR 12
Notable
- Sunday’s win over Charlotte improves South Florida’s record in the all-time series against the 49ers to 16-10-2 … It was the second meeting in less than two weeks between the two sides.
- Ajmeer Spengler finished with a team-high four shots on the night, while Alfred Perez had three and Nicolas Scargle had two shots to go along with his assist.
- The Bulls held a 7-3 shot advantage at the half, however, Charlotte outshot South Florida 13-7 in the second stanza.
- In addition to Weyman, Sergio Pineros-Mayorga, Salvatore Mazzaferro, Nicolas Scargle and Brian Schaefer all played a complete 90 minutes.
Up Next
South Florida now meets second-seeded SMU in the American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals on Thursday at the FIU Soccer Stadium in Miami. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. (ESPN+). It marks the first time the Bulls have advanced to the tournament semifinals since 2019 when they also took on a No. 2-seeded SMU side, falling to the Mustangs in a thriller, 2-1, in double overtime.
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 –
