Senior midfielder Pedro Faife (white) scored the equalizer in the 84th minute of USF’s 2-2 draw with Jacksonville on Wednesday. ORACLE PHOTO / JEANELLE HENDERSON

USF men’s soccer snapped a four-match losing streak with a hard-fought  2-2 draw against Jacksonville University Wednesday night. 

The Bulls (1-10-2, 0-4-1 American) returned to Corbett Stadium to start a three-game homestand searching for their first win since August. 

USF got on the board first but conceded two penalties in the second half against the Dolphins (4-5-3, 0-3-2 ASUN), falling behind before senior midfielder Pedro Faife’s equalizer in the 84th minute salvaged a tie.

The draw extended the Bulls’ winless streak to 11 with only four games to go in the regular season. 

After the game, head coach George Kiefer didn’t dwell on the standings, saying the way his team responded to the adversity is what he was looking for. 

“I’m not pleased we’ve created this adversity, but I’m pleased how they’ve responded to it,” Kiefer said. “There’s a lot of fight in these guys, which I like.” 

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Just three minutes in, sophomore midfielder Jakob Auby opened the scoresheet for the Bulls with a solo dribble past five Dolphins and a finish into the bottom left corner. 

Kiefer said the early goal helped, though he felt USF deserved more before the break.  

“Goals help, right?” Kiefer said. “I thought we did enough to deserve the second goal in the first half, but the goal helps for sure.” 

Much of USF’s play came down the right wing, and the Bulls pressed Jacksonville high up the field after the first strike. 

Jacksonville outshot USF 4-3 in the first half, but the Bulls held a 7-1 edge in corner kicks and carried the 1-0 lead into halftime.

Associate head coach Armanté Marshall said the pressing is built into how USF wants to play at home. 

“Pressing high up the field, even if it’s not perfect, is meant to speed up the opponent’s decision-making, and that’s always going to be the philosophy we go forward with,” Marshall said after the game.

The second half belonged to Jacksonville, which outshot USF 7-5 and got back into the match from the penalty spot.

Jacksonville’s Leonardo Davi C Santos converted the first penalty kick in the 68th minute to make it 1-1 after freshman forward Gianluca Vecchiarelli’s foul in the box was confirmed by video review. 

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Just over 10 minutes later, a tackle by USF’s freshman defender Micah Harris gave Jacksonville another penalty, and Davi C Santos converted again to put the Dolphins up 2-1. 

Kiefer said the penalties were teaching moments for the two players involved.

“I don’t know what [the referee] saw on the first [penalty], but those are just good learning lessons,” Kiefer said.

USF found the answer right back — another counter-attack down the right wing in the 84th minute ended with captain Tyler Richardson finding Faife, who slid the ball in to tie it at 2-2. 

The match grew heated in the final moments, with Jacksonville’s Iver Skorve and Davi C Santos each booked for unsporting behavior, but neither team could find the winning goal. 

Kiefer said the way his players handled the intensity matters beyond soccer.

“I think it’s a life lesson too,” Kiefer said. “There’s so many people right here in Tampa Bay where they get knocked or punched in the face or things aren’t going their way, and then they just quit.”

The Bulls will stay at home to host Temple University at 7 p.m. Sunday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.