TAMPA, Fla., August 19, 2025 – Food for thought: USF men's soccer coach Bob Butehorn believes international cuisine can break down barriers. That's why the postgame and road-trip offerings for the Bulls are often rich, varied, unusual, surprising, and anything but boring.
 
"Our guys notice the change in flavors," Butehorn said. "They realize that an authentic Italian meal is a little bit different than a chain restaurant. If we take a French kid to a French restaurant with the team and they have a certain dish, they'll get really excited about explaining why it's prepared this way. The same with Latin food, German food, or any food. If you allow everybody to understand what's behind it, you become open to new ideas and different tastes."
 
It's similar to the way USF men's soccer has been built.
 
There are players from 12 different countries — Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Iceland, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and the United States — including nine who played high school soccer in Florida.
 
"You might walk into our locker room on any given day and hear five different languages being spoken," said Pedro Faife, last season's American Athletic Conference Midfielder of the Year.
 
But make no mistake, the Bulls are on the same page.
 
With 14 new players, including a wave of talent expected to boost USF's attack and goal scoring, the Bulls are intent on improving last season's 6-6-4 finish.

"There might be differences in cultures, but people are very, very similar," Butehorn said. "You put kids from different places in a room. They come over here worried that they will be different. As it turns out, they realize that everyone is basically just like them.

"They have the same pressures, the same worries, the same anxieties, the same interests. It's fascinating. We do have a very diverse group on paper, but I really like our talent level and our depth. I think we have a chance to be good, and now we have to go out and do it."

The Bulls, who tied for third in the AAC preseason coaches poll (earning one of the nine first-place votes), open Thursday night on the road against the traditionally tough Saint Louis Billikens. The first home match will be played at St. Petersburg's Al Lang Stadium against UNC Greensboro on Thursday, Aug. 28.
 
"How good can we be? I think really, really good," said Faife, one of two Bulls (along with defender Tyler Richardson) named to the AAC preseason all-conference team. "We're going to put more balls in the back of the net. I think this will be the most talented USF team since I've been here."
 
Butehorn said he will lean heavily on his captains, Faife and defender Mathis Haugen, to establish leadership and set the tone.
 
"These are guys who have been groomed," Butehorn said. "We've had some great captains around here. But the missing piece has been the constant edge you carry into a match, regardless of who you're playing. Pedro looks at every opponent, every game and every training session as a chance to prove himself and raise the standard. Mathis is a good connector of people. They both have the ambition and desire to demand a championship level of play from their teammates."
 
It's easy to describe the Cuban-born Faife and the Norwegian-born Haugen as a fire-and-ice combination — and that's pretty accurate.
 
"I can get riled up, too, but it probably takes a little bit more," Haugen said. "We're a good combination, a good dynamic. We are the ones with experience, the ones who pull it all together. I think if we put everything together this season, we could be very special."
 
Faife and Haugen both believe newcomers will make a significant impact. In the preseason, German striker Fabio Bozesan, Brazilian midfielder Joao Belmudes and Zimbabwean forward Brandon Nyagurungo were among the standouts.
 
"The pool for players coming into college soccer has gotten bigger," Butehorn said. "There are opportunities for international players that don't exist in their countries. There will always be Florida kids on our team because we want those ties, and we've gotten the top player in Tampa the last two years.
 
"But now with international players and the transfer portal, it's a different market. The world has gotten smaller. With the way the game is growing in the United States, with the expanding interest in Major League Soccer, players from all over the world are being pulled to America. It's a natural progression, and it has really helped us."

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ABOUT USF MEN'S SOCCER
USF Men's Soccer competed in the school's first-ever intercollegiate athletic contest on Sept. 25, 1965, beating Florida Southern 4-3. Since then, the oldest program on campus has built a winning tradition, claiming 14 conference championships and making 22 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three trips to the Elite Eight.
 
The program also has a strong reputation within the professional game and boasts 30 MLS draft picks. Notable alumni include two-time MLS Golden Boot winner Jeff Cunningham, USA 1994 World Cup star Roy Wegerle, and 2013 MLS Cup winner Dom Dwyer. Men's Soccer has three Alumni and a coach in the USF Athletics Hall of Fame: Fergus Hopper, Jeff Attinella, Jeff Cunningham & Dan Holcomb.
 
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