By: TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA - The University of South Florida's men's soccer team learned some valuable lessons in a 2-1 exhibition loss at Jacksonville on Wednesday night.

The Bulls, who have gained national preseason attention, learned that playing with high intensity from the beginning will pay off when the games really count.

“I just think from the top down we can do a better job with playing with more urgency. It's part of putting the pieces together,” said USF head coach George Kiefer, who noted the Bulls controlled the ball for the majority of the game.

All the scoring took place in the second half and Jacksonville's goals proved to be learning experiences for USF.

Kiefer noted the Dolphins' first score came on an own goal by USF, and the second was the result of a miscommunication between the goalkeeper and another teammate.

“I'm pleased that it happened now and that they're able to sort out how they'll communicate,” Kiefer said. “It's the first time they played a match together, so they get to know each other and we can learn from that game.”

Another positive was USF's goal scored by newcomer Dom Dwyer, a former junior college player of the year, with an assist from Lucas Baldin.

“There was no quit in the team; we definitely fought to get back in it,” Kiefer said. “We scored one and had a chance to get a second one to tie it up.”

USF actually outshot Jacksonville, 11-7, and a wake-up call in the form of a preseason loss might prove to pay off for USF soon.

“Last year we beat the best team in the country in preseason and then dropped our season opener,” Kiefer said. “… I think we certainly learned that if we can approach the game like we did when we went down, we're going to be a very good college soccer team.”

USF will play its first match at the new Corbett Soccer Stadium on Tuesday, Aug. 23, when it hosts the University of Tampa in an exhibition match at 7:30 p.m. Prior to the game, USF will conduct the official ribbon-cutting ceremony for the state-of-the-art facility.

The Bulls open their regular season Saturday, Aug. 27 at Wake Forest before playing their home opener Friday, Sept. 2 against Georgia State. Season tickets can be purchased online at GoUSFBulls.com.