USF stays unbeaten in first C-USA win

Not only was Rodrigo Hidalgo’s first career goal a game winner, it catapulted USF’s men’s soccer to its 400th win.

Hidalgo, a freshman, scored three minutes into overtime as the Bulls slid past DePaul 1-0 on Wednesday at Wish Stadium.

Hidalgo was ecstatic on how his legacy at USF has begun.

“It feels so good because it takes some pressure off me,” the highly touted recruit said. “And I do everything in my head for this team.”

Freshman midfielder Simon Schoendorf assisted the goal on a free kick, served a cross to the right post where Hidalgo put away the rebound off a Blue Demon’s defender.

With Wednesday’s victory, the USF men’s soccer program (2-0-0, 1-0-0 C-USA) notched its first conference win of the season.

“Rodrigo (Hidalgo) has been excellent. Just a real hard working kid with no ego,” men’s soccer coach George Kiefer said. “He just wants to win for the team.”

The defense also played a superb game for the Bulls, allowing only one shot in the game, totaling four in the first two games. USF goalie Dane Brenner also shut out DePaul during the 93 minutes of the game.

Kiefer has been very impressed by his two freshmen newcomers, Schoendorf and Hidalgo, who scored three goals and an assist between them.

“Simon (Schoendorf) has been good, but he needs to work on staying at midfield a little more, and Hidalgo, he can be all business out on the field,” Kiefer said.

DePaul was the Bulls’ first C-USA opponent this year as the team started their final year in Conference USA. Over the last 11 meetings, USF has recorded a 10-1-0 record against the Blue Demons, while Kiefer is 2-1-0 versus them.

“It takes a lot of pressure off us to get a conference win on the road,” Kiefer said. “Because we see a lot a teams at home, but we’re going to finish out in this conference on a good note.”