Pictured above: The USF men’s soccer team celebrate their electrifying “War on I-4”
overtime victory against UCF in Orlando.
Courtesy of USF
By Max Steele
The USF men’s soccer team stole a 4-3 overtime win from the University of Central Florida to cap off an epic “War on I-4” showdown in Orlando on Oct. 27.
After falling short to the Knights earlier this season, the Bulls adjusted their style of play and entered the rematch prepared and eager for revenge.
Central Florida midfielder Ariel Hadar, who had two goals against USF in their first meeting, struck again with a goal in 23rd minute and put the Knights up 1-0.
Despite nearly 1,000 home fans rooting against them, the Bulls stood their ground and kept the pressure on.
South Florida silenced the crowd with goals from forward Andres Freire in the 31st minute and winger Jeffrey “JT” Copper in the 39th minute, putting USF up 2-1 before the end of the first half.
The Bulls continued to add to their lead in the second half with a strike from forward Oscar Resano in the 71st minute to put South Florida up 3-1.
With under 20 minutes left in the game, the Bulls hoped to secure the game with ease, but the Knights did not go down without a fight.
Central Florida rallied late in the second half with goals from midfielder Mauricio Villalobos Vega in the 73rd minute and forward Gianluca Arcangeli in the 84th minute, tying the game at 3-3 and forcing overtime.
With fans on the edge of their seats, South Florida midfielder Shion Soga shocked the crowd in the fourth minute of overtime as he struck the golden goal that secured his team the 4-3 victory.
The Bulls rushed the field in celebration as they reclaimed their “War on I-4” title.
“That was the greatest moment in my college career,” Soga said when asked about the game-winning goal.
South Florida head coach Bob Butehorn had high praises for his young Bulls team.
“We learned a lot from the first game, we didn’t want to sit back this time. We were locked in,” Butehorn said.
South Florida tied their last away game 0-0 against Memphis on Oct. 31 and will play their final match of the season on Nov. 5 at home against Temple.
Max Steele is a junior digital communication and multimedia journalism major at USF St. Petersburg.
