By Joey Johnston
Finding the back of the net. Scoring goals.
For South Florida men’s soccer, as always, it’s the key to everything.
The Bulls began last season 0-3 — with no goals scored — and USF’s other six defeats were one-score margins. And that came after a 2022 season when the Bulls went scoreless in their first four matches.
So a little more firepower? Yes, it would be welcomed.
That’s your cue, Jalen Anderson.
“For a lot of forwards, goals are pretty much how they make an impact on the game,’’ said Anderson, USF’s leading scorer last year who’s an All-American Athletic Conference first-team preseason pick. “But I think, personally, I can have more of an impact by setting up goals or creating space for other people, maybe getting people off the dribble.
“Whatever helps the team, that’s what I want.’’
Unquestionably, since Anderson’s arrival last season, he has helped the Bulls.
USF, which hosts the No. 23-ranked (USC Preseason Poll) Seattle Redhawks in Thursday night’s season-opener at Corbett Stadium, would welcome even more production from Anderson. Last season, he had seven goals and two assists (three game-winners), including his 19th-minute decider in a 1-0 victory against No. 15 Indiana.
“We feel Jalen will have a pretty significant role and I think he is embracing that,” head coach Bob Butehorn said. “I think the additions we’ve brought into the team will hopefully take some of the load off him and that will accentuate what he does well, which is finding good spaces and getting the chance to score goals.
“Last year, we were snake-bit. We had guys who could score that just didn’t … but Jalen was one who could finish. With the way he played last year, I think he’s going to (produce even more).’’
Butehorn will take victories any way he can get them, but he acknowledged that early offense would be nice.
“You always want momentum because in the college soccer season, momentum is everything,’’ Butehorn said. “If you get going on the right foot, generally, you have a good season.
“We’ve had teams that sometimes take a heavy load early in the season, then we gain ground as we go. But I think this year, the whole focus is to get the results, get the momentum and let’s get it moving. We can do that. In all honesty, although we have a new team, it’s not young. It’s an experienced team.’’
Anderson, 23, typifies that experience.
He’s from Hamden, Connecticut, but left home at age 15 to play with the Houston Dynamo Academy youth teams as part of Major League Soccer’s initiative to develop promising players. Anderson scored 18 goals with the Dynamo’s under-16 squad.
“It definitely helped me become a lot more mature very quickly,’’ Anderson said. “Normally, people who move away from home are going to college. I went to high school and pursued a higher level of soccer. The (host) family that I lived with was very welcoming and they had other children so it was still very much a family environment as well.’’
Although Anderson considered Notre Dame and several Ivy League schools, he initially chose UNC-Wilmington, in part because one of his Houston coaches once worked on the Wilmington staff.
Anderson said he enjoyed his four seasons (one a redshirt) at UNCW, where he was an All-Colonial Athletic Association second-teamer and once made the game-winner in double overtime to defeat No. 15 James Madison.
With two seasons of eligibility remaining, Anderson entered the transfer portal.
“I enjoyed my time with the program at Wilmington,’’ Anderson said. “The coaches very much wanted me to stay, but personally I just felt I wanted to leave on my own terms. It was time for something different, something fresh.
“We had played at USF, so I knew about the facilities and the how the campus looked. It was definitely a good experience and once I came down and met all the guys, I decided it was the place for me to be.’’
Ironically, on Sept. 2, USF will travel to UNC-Wilmington.
“Should be interesting,’’ Anderson said with a laugh.
Meantime, Anderson also hopes for an interesting USF season, one filled with victories and an NCAA Tournament appearance. That would be the perfect send-off, although he’s hoping to pursue some level of professional soccer.
With a USF master’s degree in Financial Technology, Anderson one day envisions himself working in mergers and acquisitions — and he hopes to achieve an edge by immersing himself in learning coding and Artificial Intelligence applications.
“I think having to deal with pressure and expectations for yourself in soccer, that’s only going to help push me even father in the corporate landscape,’’ Anderson said. “Whether it’s kicking a ball or something in the corporate world, the mindset of an athlete is transferrable. I’m going to have the same approach that I brought to my soccer career.’’
He wants to shoot.
He wants to score.
PROMOTIONS
Make some noise Bulls Fans! The season opener giveaway features Vuvuzelas for the first 500 fans in attendance.
TICKETS
Fans can purchase men’s soccer tickets by calling 1-800-GoBulls or at USFBullsTix.com.
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 22 NCAA Tournament appearances, including 3 trips to the elite eight.
The program also has a strong reputation within the professional game and boasts 30 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. Men’s Soccer has two Alumni and a coach in the USF Athletics Hall of Fame: Fergus Hopper and Jeff Attinella, & Dan Holcomb. Cunningham has also been selected to join the USF Athletics Hall of Fame this Fall.
The Bulls have reached the NCAA Tournament 13 times over the past 22 seasons.
– #GoBulls –
