TAMPA, AUG. 24, 2017 – The University of South Florida closed out the 2017 preseason with a victory at Corbett Stadium Thursday night. The Bulls defeated Nova Southeastern 3-2.
 
Sophomore transfer Alex Zis (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) led the Bulls with three points in the match, scoring the Bulls' first goal and assisting on the second. 19 players saw action in the 70-minute exhibition, and nine different Bulls took shots.
 
Despite a two-hour weather delay, the Bulls offense put the pressure on the Sharks from the first whistle. In the opening three minutes of the match, USF rattled off five shots, converting on two, jumping to a quick 2-0 lead. Zis scored the first goal in the second minute and in the third minute, Zis found Tomasz Skublak (Oakville, Ontario, Canada).   A Nova Southeastern miscue took a lucky roll, bouncing off the near post brining the Sharks within one in the 23^rd minute. Youssef Abougendia evened the score at 2-2 in the 53^rd minute.
 
Luis Garza (El Paso, Texas) connected on a cross from Stephen Rudderham (Tampa, Fla.) for the game-winning goal to give the Bulls a 3-2 edge. Adrian Billhardt (Berlin, Germany) was also credited with an assist.
 
QUOTABLES:
Head coach Bob Butehorn thoughts on the match:
"First of all, let's give Nova Southeastern some credit. They hung around. They are an older team, a lot of graduate students and a lot of seniors. They were savvy. They were smart. It was a good game for us. Honestly, we should have put it away early, but we came into tonight a little bit casual in spots. We maybe gave up a penalty in the beginning, but in general we came out a little slow defensively. Thankfully we scored two goals."
 
Head coach Bob Butehorn thoughts on the youth of his team:
"We knew going into the season, it was going to be a season of learning quickly. I was proud of how the guys played. I had to let them feel what it felt like to be on the ropes a little bit and find some adversity here and there to deal with. I think if the young guys and the new guys get their experience, listen and learn we'll see some growth."
 
KEY STATS:
13 – USF took 13 shots in the first period and outshot the Sharks 18-9 in the match.
 
NOTABLES: 

• USF went 3-0 in preseason exhibitions this season.
• Skublak led the Bulls with five shots, one shot on goal.
• Seven newcomers started Thursday's match. 

UP NEXT:
The Bulls officially open the 2017 campaign Monday when they host Lipscomb in nonconference action. USF will start the season at Corbett Stadium for the third straight season. Fans can catch the 7 p.m. game via Facebook live.
 
On Dec. 18 Bob Butehorn was appointed the head coach the USF men's soccer program. A member of the University of Tampa's 1981 national championship team and a three-time conference coach of the year, Butehorn previously led Florida Gulf Coast University's men's soccer program to six conference regular season championships, four NCAA Tournament appearances and Top 25 rankings in five seasons since 2010.
 
The Bulls concluded the season as The American regular season champions and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulls finished the season with a 10-6-4 overall record and a 6-1-0 mark in the American Athletic Conference.
 
Follow the men's soccer team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
 
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