Men's Soccer to Host South Florida for Home Conference Opener

GAME 8:
Tulsa (1-4-2) vs. South Florida (3-0-4)
7:00 p.m. CT - Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025
Hurricane Soccer Stadium (2,000) • Tulsa, Okla.

LIVE STATS: Tulsa StatBroadcast
TV: ESPN+
GAME NOTES: Tulsa
GAME NOTES: USF

THE COACHES:
Tulsa: Tom McIntosh (Tulsa, 1988), 31^st year
Career Record: 294-214-65
School Record: Same

Cal Baptist: Bob Butehorn (Tampa, 1985), 9^th year
Career Record: 186-151-50
School Record: 57-56-22

Tips on the South Florida Bulls

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane will host the South Florida Bulls at 7 p.m. this Sunday for Tulsa's home conference opener.
The Bulls lead the series, with the record being 3-9-3. Tulsa took the last matchup between the teams, winning 2-1 in 2024.
USF is looking to preserve their lossless season, having gone 3-0-4 so far in 2025. They currently lead the American.
Last season, South Florida finished with a 6-6-4 record, ending their season in the Amercian Conference Tournament in the semifinals with a 1-0 loss to the eventual champions, Charlotte.

Last Time Out: Tulsa Men's Soccer Falls to Cal Baptist 3-1

California Baptist University (4-1-1, 0-0-0) secured a 3-1 victory over the University of Tulsa (1-4-2, 0-1-0) at Hurricane Soccer & Track Stadium, as the Lancers outshot the Golden Hurricane 15-14, marking the most shots Tulsa has faced from an opponent so far this season.
The Lancers struck first in the 9th minute with a goal from Felix Ezekwuka, assisted by Liam Jones, quickly followed by a penalty kick goal from Blake D'Agostino less than a minute later.
Tulsa responded in the 25th minute with a goal by Jared Aguilar—his first of the season and the second of his career—assisted by Aimar Membrila and Dani Gamboa, narrowing the score to 2-1.
Carlito Saylon made multiple critical saves, totaling a season high of nine, which was more than double the amount in any other game this season.
Alexander Cruz scored for the Lancers in the 85th minute, assisted by Ezekwuka, extending their lead to 3-1.

American and National Rankings

The Golden Hurricane is second in the American for shots on goal per game (5.14), and ranks third in the conference in shot accuracy (0.444) and save percentage (0.758).
Carlito Saylon leads the American in shutouts (3) and ranks second in total saves (22).
Gijs Hovius is first in the conference in both shot accuracy (0.529) and third in shots on goal per game (1.29).

Thallinger Named American Defensive Player of the Week

Senior Kevin Thallinger earned American Defensive Player of the Week honors following his heroic save against Central Arkansas.
A defenseman from Markranstädt, Germany, Thallinger's save earned the No. 1 spot on SportsCenter's Top 10 plays Saturday. He made the stop by sliding to kick away a shot headed for the back of the net, redirecting it over the goal and out of bounds. The effort preserved TU's shutout and secured the win.

Danny Stevens Bolsters Defense in First Career Start

True freshman defender Danny Stevens from Munich, Germany, got a last-second nod on Thursday to be part of the first starting 11 of the new season.
The Tulsa defense didn't skip a beat with the pregame substitution, earning its first shutout since September 29, 2023.

Bottenburg Named American Preseason Defensive Player of the Year

Wes Bottenburg has been tabbed the American Conference Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, the league announced Monday.
A defender from Utrecht, Netherlands, Bottenburg is coming off a junior season in which he started in 13 of 14 games played and spent 1,167 minutes on the field. He netted two goals to finish as the fourth-highest scorer on the team while bolstering Tulsa with strong defensive play throughout the season to earn First Team All-Conference honors.
Bottenburg was also named to the 16-player American Preseason All-Conference Team.

Tulsa Poised for Underdog Season

The coaches of the American Conference have picked Tulsa to finish eighth of nine teams in the 2025 Preseason Coaches' Poll, with just two points more than last-place Temple.
TU is coming off a down year in which the Golden Hurricane finished seventh with a 2-4-1 league record and 3-9-3 overall record.
Since then, Tulsa has returned seven starters from last year who are hungry to bounce back in 2025, including First Team All-Conference choice Wes Bottenburg and unanimous all-freshman Alex Cunningham.
13 players left the roster, so McIntosh's recruitment staff hit the road and the transfer portal and added 13 brand new players looking to bring Tulsa back to championship status.
Key newcomers include JUCO All-American Luc Achermann-Stanfield (Eastern Florida State), NAIA all-star Joao Neves (Oklahoma Wesleyan), veteran goalkeeper Samy Slimi (Campbell), Pittsburgh defender Dani Gamboa and true freshman Joses Chukwu (Toronto, Ontario).

The Timeless Tom McIntosh

Coach Mac has completed 30 seasons at The University of Tulsa in his illustrious career.
He is one of 16 active head coaches at the DI level to have coached for 30 or more seasons and is one of six active head coaches to have accomplished the feat while coaching for only one program.
He is tied for the 14th-longest active DI coaching career.
McIntosh has coached Tulsa through four conferences: Missouri Valley (1995, 2000-04), WAC (1996-99), Conference USA (2005-13) and the American (2014-present).

Home Field Advantage

The Tulsa men's soccer team has been tough to beat at the Hurricane Soccer Stadium, tallying a 30-14-9 mark since the beginning of 2019.
2025: TU starts off the year undefeated with a tie against CSUN in the opener (0-0-1).
2023-24: Tulsa earned five combined home wins between the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
2022: Tulsa was 6-0-1 in the regular season but went 1-2 in postseason action at home.
2021: 8-0 in the regular season, but went 3-1 in postseason, falling in the NCAA Third Round game to West Virginia in double overtime (11-1 overall).
2020-21 (season played in the spring due to the coronavirus pandemic): 4-0-1.
2019: Tulsa fell in only two home contests while nabbing three wins and two ties (3-2-2).

Men's Soccer Ticket Information
Single-game tickets are on sale for $10 per match and can be purchased in advance at TulsaHurricane.com or at the gate. Season tickets also start at just $50. Season ticket members will receive one membership card per ticket ordered that will be good for all 2025 TU men's and women's regular season home matches at the Hurricane Soccer Stadium. Season tickets are not valid for any postseason games. No refunds for canceled games due to weather-related or any other cause. CLICK HERE to start the process of ordering tickets or call 918-631-4688.

Ball Kid Sign-ups
The Tulsa soccer teams are looking for more ball kids for the 2025 season. Ball kids and one accompanying parent or guardian will receive free admission for games they sign up for. Ball kids will retrieve balls that go out of bounds on the sidelines for the entire game. The minimum age to be a Ball Kid is 8 years old. Kids ages 13 or older are not eligible to participate. Groups will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. Sign up by clicking HERE.

Visit www.TulsaHurricane.com for the latest news and information on the men's soccer program. Fans can also follow the team on X, Facebook and Instagram.

Men's Soccer to Host South Florida for Home Conference Opener

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Luc Achermann-Stanfield

Jared Aguilar

Wes Bottenburg

Joses Chukwu

Alex Cunningham

Dani Gamboa

Gijs Hovius

Aimar Membrila

Joao Neves

Carlito Saylon

Samy Slimi

Danny Stevens

Kevin Thallinger

Men's Soccer to Host South Florida for Home Conference Opener

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Luc Achermann-Stanfield

Jared Aguilar

Wes Bottenburg

Joses Chukwu

Alex Cunningham

Dani Gamboa

Gijs Hovius

Aimar Membrila

Joao Neves

Carlito Saylon

Samy Slimi

Danny Stevens

Kevin Thallinger

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