USF men’s soccer caught a 2-1 victory against Elon Sunday night at Corbett Stadium, with graduate forward Jalen Anderson netting two crucial goals in the second half.

While this is Anderson’s first season as a Bull (2-4, 0-0 AAC), it isn’t the first time he’s played against the Phoenix (1-3-3, 0-1-1 CAA).

As a member of North Carolina-Wilmington, he played Elon on multiple occasions due to them being in the same conference. Anderson said his previous experience against his opponent made it easier to recognize their defensive scheme.

“Their center backs are always very good. Last year, they had the same ones that played [in the] NCAA Tournament. [It’s] still the same group, especially the backline and they always stay very compact, very organized,” Anderson said.

“It just takes getting in front of them [because] trying to beat them [from] behind is very difficult. So just how to get in front of them. Just go at them and that’s exactly what happened.”

Before Anderson’s two goals, the Bulls attempted five shots in the first half against the Phoenix. Elon made one goal in the first half and seven shots in total.

Leading the Elon defense, junior goalie Tomasz Wroblewski saved five out of the 10 shots USF took. The Phoenix had 13 fouls, with four in the first half and nine in the second. USF had seven total.

Two shots were attempted by junior midfielder Shion Soga – one in the 39th second which was off target and another in the 20th minute that was saved by Elon. Senior center back Luca Hollenstein and sophomore winger/forward Jemone Barclay also attempted to make a shot, but those were saved by Elon as well.

The Bulls came back in the second half trying for more shots when Anderson was taken off the bench and made the first goal of the game off right foot in the bottom right of the goal in the 75th minute. Right after, another goal was made by Anderson assisted by senior midfielder Ajmeer Spengler in the bottom left of the goal off right foot.

Anderson said the connection between defense and offense got in the way of moving the ball forward and getting it into the shooting range during the first half, but they soon got on the same page in the second.

“Trusting each other in certain spots with the ball and trusting that we’ll find a way to get out of it, which especially in the second half today we definitely figured out,” Anderson said.

“Even though we might have had a man on us, trust somebody to get out of the situation and move the ball forward.”

Anderson said the start of the season was difficult for the Bulls given they dropped their first three games. However, they have picked up their pace in recent weeks.

As they approach their upcoming conference game against SMU, Bulls head coach Bob Butehorn said he is eager to see which player will step up next.

“I think we believe in what we’re doing,” Butehorn said. “I think we are slowly scratching the surface of who we can be.”