The Bulls set their sights on Central Florida and the War on I-4 on Wednesday in Orlando
TAMPA (Oct. 22, 2021) – The University of South Florida men’s soccer team came into Friday night’s American Athletic Conference match trailing its opponent, SMU, by three points in the conference standings and looking for a big win and a jump as the regular season winds down. The Mustangs, however, had other ideas as they pulled away for a 4-0 win over the Bulls at Corbett Stadium. South Florida, who had won two-straight matches, falls to 4-7-1 on the year and 2-5 in conference play, while SMU improves to 7-3-2 overall and 4-3 in The American.
A win for the Green and Gold would have been crucial as the Mustangs and Memphis, who the Bulls defeated on Oct. 15, 2-1, each sat in a tie for third place as the day started.
South Florida had its chances early on in the match, however, after an en extremely even first 20-plus minutes, where both sides had their opportunities, SMU struck first in the 24’ when Roman Knox found the back of the net off a corner kick. Gabriel Costa served up a pass that originally went off the head of the Bulls’ Oscar Resano and found the foot of Knox. Knox fired his offering that deflected off of South Florida’s Richard Laval and ended up in the goal.
SMU took the slight lead into the half, despite the Bulls holding an 8-7 advantage in shots during the first 45 minutes.
The Mustangs extended their edge on the Bulls in the 59’ when Kyran Chambron Pinho took a pass from midfield, from Knut Ahlander, and beat South Florida goalkeeper Kazuna Takase on a breakaway to make the score 2-0.
SMU put the match out of reach seven minutes later when Ahlander served up his second assist of the night tapping the ball to Harvey Castro who gave the Mustangs a three-goal lead. SMU tacked one more on in the 79’ minute for the final margin
Scoring Summary
SMU – Roman Knox (Unassisted; 23:47)
SMU – Kyran Chambron Pinho (Knut Ahlander; 59:03)
SMU – Harvey Castro (Knut Ahlander; 65:57)
SMU – Brandon Terwege (Harvey Castro; 78:43)
1 2 F
USF 0 0 0
SMU 1 3 4
Shots: USF 10, SMU 16
Shots on Goal: USF 2, SMU 10
Saves: USF 6, SMU 2
Corner Kicks: USF 3, SMU 3
Fouls: USF 17, SMU 9
Notable
- The Bulls fall to 4-7-4 in the all-time series against SMU.
- South Florida goalkeeper Kazuna Takase finished the night with six saves against the Mustangs.
- Oscar Resano had a team-high four shots in 60 minutes of play
Up Next
Following its match with SMU, USF will travel across the Interstate-4 corridor to face Central Florida on Wednesday, Oct. 27 in the second edition of the War on I-4. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. The match with the Knights is the first of two straight on the road for the Bulls. USF will also travel to Memphis on Sunday, Oct. 31 for an 8 p.m. ET meeting with the Tigers.
The Bulls close out their regular season schedule at Corbett Stadium on Friday, Nov. 5, at 7:30 p.m. against Temple.
