TAMPA, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University's men's soccer team rallied from a two-goal deficit to tie its match with South Florida, but an 83
rd-minute goal by the Bulls proved to be the difference in a 3-2 USF win over FGCU in a non-conference match Sunday night at Corbett Stadium.
The teams went back-and-forth for the first 30 minutes, with South Florida (2-1-1) outshooting the Eagles, 5-2, though both of FGCU's shots – made by
Brooks Beeman – were on goal. The Bulls finally broke through at 30:42, when Fabio Bozesan scored off an assist by Brandon Nyagurungo to give South Florida a 1-0 lead.
South Florida doubled its lead just 80 seconds later, as Pedro Faife got a goal off a pass by Bozesan at 32:02 to give the Bulls a 2-0 lead. However, FGCU (1-2) got a goal back just before halftime, as
Edson Murguia got his first goal of the season off an assist by
Caio Oliveira at 43:52 to get the Eagles back to within 2-1 at the break.
South Florida outshot FGCU, 11-4, in the first half, including 6-4 in shots on goal, in the opening 45 minutes. The Bulls had four corner kicks to FGCU's two, and Eagle goalie
Oliver Weng racked up four saves to keep FGCU within striking distance.
FGCU then tied the match at 2 at 54:26, when Ignatius DeMark netted his first goal of the year off a shot into the bottom right corner of the net.
Arber Shala provided the assist for the Eagles, his first points of the season as well.
The match was tight and cagey for the next 25-plus minutes, with few scoring opportunities and no shots finding the back of the net. However, the home.standing Bulls were able to break the tie at 82:33, when Jakob Auby scored off an assist by Faife to put South Florida ahead, 3-2.
FGCU pushed hard to try and tie the match in the final moments and almost did.
Dylan Zavatini appeared to have scored his first goal of the year at 87:47, but the Eagles were called for offsides, taking the goal off the board and allowing USF to come away with the win.
For the match, South Florida out,shot FGCU, 14-11, but the Eagles out shot the Bulls, 7-3 in the second half. USF had eight shots on goal to the Eagles' seven and South Florida finished with six corner kicks to FGCU's five.
Beeman had a team-high four shots for FGCU, three of which were on goal. Oliveira and Murguia had two shots apiece and Weng finished with five saves in goal for the Eagles in the loss.
FGCU continues its season-opening five match road trip on Wednesday, when the Eagles travel to Memphis, Tenn. to take on the University of Memphis Tigers (1-1-2). Memphis was also in action on Sunday night, coming from behind to tie Evansville, 1-1, at Evansville. Kickoff for Wednesday's match at the Track and Soccer Complex is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
The Eagles open the home portion of their 2025 schedule on Sept. 9, when FGCU hosts Florida Memorial in a 7 p.m. matchup at Pickering Field. For the first time in program history, FGCU is offering season tickets for its soccer programs, with packages starting at $60. Fans who purchase season tickets for either the men's or women's soccer teams will receive a season ticket combo for both programs. Mini-plan and single-game tickets are also available, with single-match ticket prices as low as $12.
Fans who aren't able to make it out to Pickering Field to support the Eagles in person can still catch all the action online, as all FGCU home matches are streamed on ESPN+.
