USF men’s soccer draws against No.10 UCF for the first time in almost 40 years
The Bulls battled for a 0-0 scoreless tie on Sunday night against No. 10 UCF, marking the first draw between the teams in almost 40 years.
The game was the fourth overall tie in USF and UCF matchup history and the first since Sept. 6, 1984.
The Bulls came to the match against the Knights after a 2-1 home win against UC Irvine. UCF is the highest-ranked opponent the team has faced so far this season.
Related: USF men’s soccer edges UC Irvine, snaps draw streak – The Oracle
The last time the teams played each other was in November 2022, when USF won by 2-1 in Orlando. USF has a 27-9-4 record against UCF.
At the start of the game, the Knights took the first offensive action of the match.
USF played in a low block, doing hard defensive work, preventing UCF’s dangerous attack from causing any damage.
The Knights scored eight goals in their last two matches prior to playing the Bulls.
From the 15th minute on, USF was able to create a couple of opportunities.
One chance, in particular, resulted in a goal from senior Gunnar Studenhofft, which was negated due to a handball. It would have been Studenhofft’s third goal of the season.
In the second half, the game got more electric. The offensive and defensive transitions got intense, as did the aggressiveness of the game.
Both teams were committed to scoring and not letting the opponent team notch one in, so plenty of technical faults ensued, resulting in a total of four yellow cards.
In the second half, UCF took the offensive initiative, taking 10 shots in. However, the Bulls’ hard defensive work kept the sheet clean.
Graduate goalkeeper Felix Schaefer had two saves and had the help of the post when he wasn’t able to make back-to-back stops.
The Bulls had one last chance to score with only two minutes remaining on the clock, but the weak shot wasn’t enough to take the lead.
South Florida comes back to action against FIU in the American Atlantic Conference slate opener on Friday at Corbett Stadium.