The Bulls get highlight reel goals from Alfred Perez and Sergio Pineros-Mayorga in the final 23 minutes against the Tigers.
TAMPA (Oct. 28, 2022) – The University of South Florida men’s soccer team turned in a dominating performance on Friday night en route to a 2-0 win over Memphis on Senior Night at Corbett Stadium in a crucial American Athletic Conference matchup. The victory, the Bulls’ second-straight, improves the Green and Gold to 5-5-4 on the year and 4-1-3 in The American while the Tigers fall to 7-4-4 overall and 4-3-1 in league play. In addition, South Florida is unbeaten in eight of its last 10 matches.
With the win, the Bulls, who came into the night in sole possession of fifth place, were catapulted into a tie with SMU for third place with 15 points apiece. South Florida and the Mustangs are both just one point behind the league leaders Tulsa and FIU who each have 16 points.
The Bulls had total control of the contest outshooting Memphis 20-6 on the night and 10-2 in shots on goal.
After a scoreless first half, it only seemed to be a matter of time before South Florida broke through against the Tigers, but when it did, it came in a big way.
Harvard transfer and graduate student, Alfred Perez got the Bulls on the board first and sent the South Florida faithful into a frenzy in the 67’. Perez took a pass from Jeffrey “JT” Copper, played it off his chest, popped the ball into the air, and finished with a brilliant bicycle kick to the left post and past Memphis goalkeeper Colin Welsh to make the score 1-0. The score was Perez’s second of the season.
Not to be outdone, Sergio Pineros-Mayorga, one of four seniors honored before the match, scored his first career goal in the 83’ with a bending laser to the top far corner of the goal and past the diving Welsh who had no chance for the save.
Jackson Weyman, mostly untested, had three saves on the night.
Scoring Summary
USF – Alfred Perez (Jeffrey “JT” Copper; 67:24)
USF – Sergio Pineros-Mayorga (Unassisted; 82:35)
1 2 F
USF 0 2 0
UM 0 0 0
Shots: USF 20, UM 6
Shots on Goal: USF 10, UM 3
Saves: USF 3, UM 8
Corner Kicks: USF 6, UM 5
Fouls: USF 8, UM 11
Notable
- Friday’s win over Memphis improves South Florida’s record in the all-time series against the Tigers to 18-5-5 and 11-3-1 in matches played in Tampa.
- Three South Florida players – Gabrielle Privitera, Ajmeer Spengler and Jemone Barclay – recorded four shots in the win over Memphis while Alfred Perez had three … Privitera had a match-high three shots on goal.
- In addition to Weyman, Salvatore Mazzaferro, Nicolas Scargle and Brian Schaefer all played a complete 90 minutes.
- Friday’s match marked Senior Night for the Bulls and before the match, the men’s soccer program recognized their four seniors, Sal Mazzaferro, Sergio Pineros-Mayorga, Gabrielle Privitera and Jackson Weyman.
Up Next
South Florida will close out the regular season on Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. at Central Florida in the War on I-4. This will be the last time both teams will face each other as American Athletic Conference foes. The match can be seen on ESPN+.
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 –
