After tying in back-to-back games, USF men’s soccer landed back in the win column with a 2-1 victory over UC Irvine.

South Florida (2-1-3) wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, going up 1-0 at the 3:58 mark in period one.

The crowd of 518 attendees at Corbett Stadium erupted for senior forward Gunner Studenhofft’s goal, coming from a crowd-pleasing assist from grad student forward John Adekunle.

Studenhofft’s goal is his second this season. He scored his first as a Bull last match versus FGCU on Friday.

UC Irvine would tie the game up later in the period, with a goal by junior forward Agaton Pourshahidi. USF remained aggressive on offense in the first period, an effort that coach Bob Butehorn appreciated from his team.

“We want to put a lot of pressure on the net, and we usually challenge them with a certain amount of shots at half,” Butehorn said. “They eclipsed that tonight, so we’re happy with what they’re doing.”

USF managed nine shots in the first period, but the score remained deadlocked at one going into halftime.

The second period saw more of the same energetic USF offense – and their play was rewarded by another goal at the 56:09 mark by freshman midfielder Marcelo Mondragon. Butehorn praised Mondragon’s play off the bench in the game.

“Tonight, Marcelo gave us really good minutes.,” Butehorn said. “For him to come off the bench and give us that on the whim is just fantastic.”

Sophomore defender Issah Hamidu and junior defender Jemone Barclay received credit for the assist on Mondragon’s goal.

For a brief moment, it appeared that yet another game for the Bulls would end up as a tie. 

The Anteaters scored a goal in period two, but was negated by a penalty that led to a USF free kick. South Florida kept UC Irvine away from the net the remainder of the match, leading to the win.

Butehorn believes the victory is an indicator of future success for his team.

“Just getting a win right now is creating belief,” Butehorn said. “We feel really good about who we are, so we’re ready to take the next step.

Looking Ahead

The Bulls next matchup pits them against their rival UCF. South Florida will take on the undefeated Knights (2-0-2) in the “War on I-4” on Sunday. 

Historically, USF has dominated the matchup, with a head-to-head record of 27-9.