Men’s Soccer Rides First Half Wave to 5-0 Rout of South Florida
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNC Greensboro (UNCG) men’s soccer team (2-1-4) rode a storm of first-half goals to a 5-0 win over the South Florida (USF) Bulls (1-6-0) on Tuesday night at UNCG Soccer Stadium, getting tallies from five different players in the Blue & Gold’s first home game of September.
Head Coach Chris Rich’s team responded strongly to a loss last time out at No. 6 South Carolina, bagging four goals in the opening 45 minutes and never looking back as the Spartans made a statement ahead of Saturday’s Southern Conference (SoCon) opener.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Lasse Dahl pounced on an errant pass in the opposition’s half six minutes in, driving through the last two defenders before firing home a low drive for his first UNCG goal. Gavin DeHart nearly joined Dahl in the scorers’ column in the 20thminute, a powerful shot aimed for the top right corner just punched away by Bulls’ goalkeeper Alexis Martin.
Keaviano Francis doubled the UNCG lead in the 29th minute, rising up and nodding home after a long range strike from Caleb Borneo deflected into the air and towards the six-yard box for his fourth goal of the season.
It was 3-0 less than five minutes later, as two Spartans combined for respective firsts. A pinpoint corner from freshman Gavin DeHart found the head of Mason Dancy, the latter directing the ball perfectly for his first collegiate goal while DeHart notched his first collegiate point with the assist.
That theme continued before the break; Pablo Torre stole possession and drove toward the box from the right in the 43rd minute, before finding an onrushing Malo Jungling minutes into his debut with a low cross. The freshman from France made no mistake, hammering his shot first-time past Martin to make it 4-0 at the half in favor of the Spartans.
Rotating players, UNCG kept the pressure on in the second half and were rewarded late with the fifth and final strike of the night. A driving run from Francis ended with the senior finding the feet of Borneo, who spun inside to beat his defender before cooly rifling home at the near post. It’s the third goal for Borneo, all of them coming in the past four games.
Newly crowned SoCon Defensive Player of the Week Seth Wilson had a quiet night in goal for the Blue & Gold, finishing with one save to complete the Spartans’ second shutout of the season. UNCG faced just five shots on the night, the fewest of any game this season.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
Five goals is the most scored in a game for the Spartans since a 5-1 rout of VMI on Nov. 7 of last season. The five-goal margin of victory tonight marks the largest win for Rich’s squad since Oct. 19, 2021, a 7-1 win over USC Upstate.
This was the second game of the season that Wilson has finished with one save in, following the 4-1 opening win over VCU on Aug. 20.
Jungling joins Francis and Filipe Matos as Spartans to score in their debut this season, after the latter both struck against VCU.
Jungling and Dancy join Bautista Schmidt (also against the Rams) as Spartans who have scored their first collegiate goals this season.
Along with DeHart, Francis and Borneo recorded their respective first assists with the program in tonight’s win.
Eight Spartans have now scored this season, while nine have now recorded assists seven games into the season.
Francis (nine) and Borneo (seven) continue to lead UNCG in points, both finishing tonight’s win with a goal and assist each.
UP NEXT
The Spartans welcome the Liberty Flames to UNCG Soccer Stadium on Saturday for the 2026 SoCon opener. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. on ESPN+, with Saturday’s promotions featuring a free straw hat giveaway to the first 100 UNCGstudents along with a food truck in attendance and postgame autographs.
Courtesy of Davis Fields
Strategic Communications Coordinator
UNC Greensboro