Colleges: No.13 Bulls rally past Villanova for victory

No.13 South Florida rallied from a halftime deficit to earn a 3-1 victory against Villanova and remain in second place in the Big East Red division on Saturday night.

The Bull came out flat in the first half, and paid the price as Matt Seamon gave the Wildcats the lead in the sixth minute. The Wildcats almost added to their lead in the 32nd minute, but Ashani Fairclough was on hand to head the ball away for a corner after Bulls goalkeeper Jeff Attinella had been beaten by Adam Amman’s shot.

Lucky to be trailing by only a goal, the Bulls turned their performance around in the second half. After Seamon was shown a red card in the 61st minute, the Bulls quickly got back on level terms, Hasani Sinclair finding the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season.

The Bulls then took the lead eight minutes later as Javed Mohammed’s corner found Andre Mittoo in the penalty area. Mittoo played the ball to Fairclough before Sebastian Thuriere finished the opportunity, burying the ball in the back of the net.

Ogi Perucica then added a third for the Bulls in the 76th minute, the senior recording his first career goal for the Bulls on Senior Night to make it 3-1.

South Florida remains two points behind Louisville in the Red division with the victory, and one point ahead of St. John’s with two games to play. The Bulls will look for a fourth straight win against DePaul at the USF Soccer Stadium on Wednesday night before travelling to Rutgers next Saturday to close out the season.

Colleges: Mora, Attinella lead No.13 Bulls past No.15 Dartmouth

Jorge Mora’s second goal of the season was enough to give No.13 South Florida its third straight victory as it defeated No.15 Dartmouth 1-0 at the USF Soccer Stadium on Wednesday night.

Mora gave the Bulls the lead in the 27th minute, picking up a pass from Hasani Sinclair before taking a pair of touches and driving a low shot from 25 yards out into the bottom-left corner of the net.

Dartmouth played tightly when the Bulls had possession, putting numbers behind the ball, but the Big Green were able to create a number of chances with their speed on the counter-attack. Bulls goalkeeper Jeff Attinella was named the player of the game, and he had to be sharp early as both Lucky Mkosana and Austin Bowers hit the target with early chances.

The Bulls came close to taking the lead in the 16th minute when Ashani Fairclough had his header from a free kick by Javed Mohammed just turned around the post by Dartmouth goalkeeper Sean Donovan, but it was Dartmouth that posed a greater threat, outshooting the Bulls 9-3 before the break.

The game tightened defensively as the second half wore on, but Attinella still had to make a pair of important saves from Andrew Olsen and Mkosana around the hour mark. Attinella finished with eight saves as he recorded his sixth shutout of the season.

South Florida continues its home stand when it hosts Villanova on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. before the Bulls host DePaul next Wednesday.

Colleges: Even keel paying dividends for Bulls

TAMPA – You might think that a game against Louisville, a side also ranked in the Top 25 and tied with South Florida for first place in the Big East Red division, would provide a little extra juice for the Bulls as they prepare for Wednesday night.

But then, an even temperament is what has gotten the No.6-ranked Bulls to this point, and they’re not going to change now.

“I think we’re always excited to play any game,” Bulls coach George Kiefer said. “What Louisville’s record, what South Florida’s record is going in, once the game starts, I try not to be too concerned with that stuff.”

That attitude is reflected around the team, which is treating Wednesday’s game no differently than any other.

“Each Big East game is competitive, and we go each day at a time,” defender Javed Mohammed said. “Today we practiced on certain things … and that’s what we do every day, we take each day at a time, and when Louisville comes, they come.”

Kiefer said he expects his side to have learned the lessons of the one loss the Bulls suffered this season against West Virginia on Wednesday, and will look to manage the game better than they did then.

“Louisville is a very aggressive defensively, they step up and pressure you,” Kiefer said. “It’s important that we understand what they’re looking for, and we don’t feed it. And sooner or later, when they’re not getting rewarded for what they’re trying to do, then they slow down a little bit. It’s real important we are very smart tactically. I feel we learned a lot from West Virginia two weeks ago where I feel very good about going into this game and playing it right tactically.”

ATTINELLA HONORED AGAIN: Jeff Attinella became the first Big East goalkeeper this season to earn a second Goalkeeper of the Week award on Monday, his penalty save against Cincinnati the key moment in his fourth shutout of the season.

The former Countryside High standout previously won the award on September 14 after a pair of shutouts against Valparaiso and Virginia Tech.

SETTING THE TABLE: Mohammed has been a key figure for the Bulls this season, leading the team with four assists thanks to his consistency on set pieces. Mohammed’s free kick on Saturday night found Ashani Fairclough for the Bulls opening goal against Cincinnati in a 2-0 win, and he was named to TopDrawerSoccer.com’s National Team of the Week on Monday.

Mohammed said he was known for having a good left foot when he was growing up in Trinidad, and that he had continued to work on since he came to USF.

“The more I’ve practiced, the more I’ve been able to put the ball in that one spot,” Mohammed said. “I’ve just kept on practicing, and I think I’ve gotten a lot better.”

The Bulls have placed an emphasis on creating chances from dead-ball situations, and Kiefer said he is pleased Mohammed has been rewarded for the work he’s put in beyond the Bulls regular practices.

“That’s from Javed wanting to get better at it, and putting time in over the summer to strike and repetition of serves, and it’s paying off for him,” Kiefer said. “He’ll stay out here a lot after practice and work on that stuff.

FITTING IN FINE: Fairclough gave a big smile when asked about his first goal for the Bulls on Monday, but his play in the center of defense has had a smile on Kiefer’s face for most of the season.

Fairclough played as a defensive midfielder before he came to South Florida, but the freshman has melded into the heart of a Bulls defense that has allowed only five goals in nine games this season.

“There were some things early on we were cleaning up with him,” Kiefer said. “But he’s also very intelligent, and very good student, you know he’s got a good soccer brain, so you tell him something once or twice and he picks it up.”

Fairclough credits Kiefer and the Bulls coaching staff for what he has been able to accomplish so far this season.

“The coaching staff has helped me very much,” Fairclough said. “Coming in here, it’s a great group of guys, and we’ve been working hard.”

Colleges: Attinella's penalty save keys Bulls victory

South Florida Bulls goalkeeper Jeff Attinella has made some game-altering saves already this season, but the one he made on Saturday night may have surpassed them all.

Attinella’s penalty kick save on Cincinnati’s Judson McKinney proved critical as the No.6-ranked Bulls moved into a tie for first place in the Big East Red division with a 2-0 victory against the Bearcats at the USF Soccer Stadium on Saturday night.

South Florida (7-1-1, 3-1-1 Big East) had taken a 1-0 lead in the 51st minute, heading in a free kick by Javed Mohammed, and had remained in control of the game until the last 10 minutes.

Then the Bearcats (7-4-0, 2-3-0) were awarded a penalty for a handball in the penalty area after a corner. McKinney struck the ball well, but Attinella dove lto his right to turn the shot away, maintaining the Bulls lead.

"I thought I had a good shot at it, I thought I had a pretty good idea where he was going," Attinella said. "I ended up going to right way, and made the save."

Less than a minute later, the Bulls would find their second goal, Bernardo Anor scoring his fourth of the season with his head after a cross by Jorge Mora.

The Bulls will travel to No.17 Louisville on Wednesday night for what is shaping up to be a crucial Big East contest. The Bulls and Cardinals are now tied atop the Big East Red division, making the Top 25 match-up a big one for both sides.