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Fidelis Atuegbu

Fidelis Atuegbu

  • Class
    1981
  • Honors
    Men's Soccer (1978-1981)
NCAA Champions

The USF Dons looked strong as they entered the 1980 season. The team rewrote their own records in 1979 for most goals in a season (133) and most goals in a game, 23-0 over Saint Mary's. The Dons compiled a 23-3-1 record and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championships.

The force behind the team's successful drive to the 1980 title was the powerful trio of Bjorn Tronstad, Luis Felipe and Dag Olavsen. Offensive play revolved around Midfielders Roar Anderson and Stan Musilek. Nick Lambridis, Jan Elberse, Jo Bergsvand, and Erik Visser, the current player-coach of USF men's soccer, led the defensive backfield. Additional key players included goalie Aram Kardzair and Erik Nielsen.

The Dons won the Pacific Soccer Conference with victories over San Jose, Santa Clara and Fresno State. Entering post-season competition with a 19-0-2 record, and ranking 1st in the nation, the Dons beat UCLA for the Far West championship 2-1. In the quarterfinals, the team beat long-time rival St. Louis. Then USF met No. 2-ranked Alabama A&M to win with two goals in the second half.

In the finals, the Dons met Indiana, whose defense dominated the first half, and they were 2-0. The Dons rallied to tie the game at 3-3. In sudden-death overtime, Fidelis Atuegbu hit a 20-yarder to win the fourth NCAA championship for the Dons. A team motivated by close friendships and the desire to be the best college players in the country gave coach Negoesco his first undefeated season since 1966.

In a 2020 interview with Vanguard, Fidelis talked about being in a competitive soccer family. "My dad’s elder brother, Philip, was among the Igbo trailblazers that migrated to Jos, Nigeria. So my father joined him there and they ran a family business. He worked for Niger Motors. I played for all the schools I attended. After high school, I played for Black Star of Jos. Thereafter, I joined the Nigeria Standard of Jos from 1976 to 1978. It was from there that I left for the United States to study at the University of San Francisco. I was an outlier as far as football was concerned. I did not play for Mighty Jets. I played against them. At the time, Nicholas was the only one still there. I was playing for Black Star. We were no match for them. We were a bunch of young boys and they taught us a lesson. We got our revenge later, albeit, with Standard. We defeated Mighty Jets 1-0 to win the Plateau State Challenge Cup in 1977."

Atuegbu, after graduating in 1981 with a Bachelor Degree in International Business, and a Masters in Finance, worked as a Senior Consultant in Finance and Strategy at Portia Bell Hume Behavioral Health and Training Center, Concord CA.
 

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