Freshmen Shion Soga and Brian Schaefer find the back of the net for the Bulls against the Golden Hurricane.
TAMPA (March 6, 2021) – The University of South Florida men’s soccer team picked up its second win against a ranked opponent this season, defeating No. 22 Tulsa, 2-1, on Saturday night at Corbett Stadium. In doing so, USF won its third-straight match and its first at home.
The Bulls also handed rival, and No. 14-ranked, UCF a 2-1 loss in the first edition of the War on I-4 on Feb. 20.
Freshmen Shion Soga and Brian Schaefer each notched their first career goals for USF, with Schaefer’s going down as the game-winner.
Neither team could find the back of the net in the first half, as the Golden Hurricane (2-1, 2-1 AAC) went into the break with a 5-2 shot advantage over the Bulls (3-2, 3-2 AAC).
Tulsa got on the board at the 53rd minute with a header by Luke Jeffus off of a ball sent in by Chase Bromstedt. Shortly after 10 minutes had passed, Diego Guerrero slipped a pass behind the Tulsa defense to find Soga, who netted the equalizer for the Bulls.
USF took the lead in the 75th minute off a corner when Tulsa goalkeeper, Lucas Cline, failed to make a clean grab. Schaefer got the rebound and buried it home to give the Bulls the winner.
Kazuna Takase finished the night with two saves, in net for the Green and Gold, including a big stop in the second half to keep Tulsa off the board.
Scoring Summary
TUL – Luke Jeffus (Chase Bromstedt; 53:53)
USF – Shion Soga (Diego Guerrero and Salvatore Mazzaferro; 64:13)
USF – Brian Schaefer (Unassisted; 75:18)
1 2 F
USF 0 2 2
TUL 0 1 1
Shots: USF 7, TUL 8
Shots on Goal: USF 3, TUL 5
Saves: USF 2, TUL 3
Corner Kicks: USF 3, TUL 3
Fouls: USF 10, TUL 13
Notable
- Saturday’s game against Tulsa was USF’s third of the season against a member of the Top 25 …The Golden Hurricane came into the match No. 22 in the nation … The Bulls have also faced No. 8 SMU (L, 7-0) and No. 14 UCF (W, 2-1).
- USF’s win over Tulsa improves its record to 7-2-2 against the Golden Hurricane.
- For the second-straight week the Bulls trailed 1-0 and then came-from-behind to win off goals by freshmen.
- Five of USF’s top eight scoring leaders are freshmen – Oscar Resano (3 pts., 1g, 1a), Jeffrey “JT” Copper (3 pts., 1g, 1a), Brian Schaefer (2 pts., 1g), Shion Soga (2 pts., 1g), and Segun Afolabi (2 pts., 1g).
Up Next
Following Saturday’s match, USF will hit the road over the next two weekends for key American Athletic Conference matches. The Bulls will travel to Memphis on March 13 and SMU on March 20 following this weekend tilt with Tulsa.
USF will return home on March 27 when it welcomes UCF to Corbett Stadium … Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
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 27 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 19 years, including 12 NCAA Tournament appearances during that period.
USF Soccer concluded the 2019 season with an 11-7-1 overall record, earning an at-large NCAA Tournament bid. Four players earned AAC honors, highlighted by first team selections Avionne Flanagan and Javain Brown. Adrian Billhardt was tabbed a second team selection. In addition, Brown and Salvatore Mazzaferro were named to The AAC All-Rookie Team. Head coach Bob Butehorn returns to lead USF in his fourth season on the sidelines.
– #GoBulls –
