College Matchday: No.16 South Florida at No.1 Akron

WHEN: Sunday, 4 p.m., Lee Jackson Field

NEED TO KNOW: South Florida will look to spring a major surprise as it takes on NCAA Division I Tournament No.1 seed Akron in the second round. The Zips are the only perfect team in the nation, entering the game with a record of 20-0-0, and have been dominant all season with six players having scored double-digit points. They are led in that by forward Teal Burnbury, who has scored 16 goals on the season, while Darlington Nagbe has added 12.

The Zips have also been tight defensively, with goalkeeper David Meves holding a 0.36 goals against average having recorded 12 shutouts this season.

The Bulls fell 3-1 to the Zips in preseason, and will likely need to play their best game of the season in order to advance. What they will likely be unable to do is go behind early, as they did against Stetson on Thursday night in the opening round before rallying for a 2-1 victory. Sebastian Thuriere and Bernardo Anor had the goals then for the Bulls, giving them both a team-high six on the season.

However, Bulls goalkeeper Jeff Attinella will likely be the key player for the Bulls on Sunday. The Zips have averaged 17.4 shots per game, and 2.65 goals per game, meaning the man named the Big East Goalkeeper of the Year will need to be on top of his game to give the Bulls a chance to steal a road victory.

Colleges: Bulls rally from early deficit, defeat Hatters

No.16 South Florida shook off its early rust to come from an early deficit to move into the second round of the NCAA Division I Tournament with a 2-1 victory against Stetson on Thursday night at the USF Soccer Stadium.

The Atlantic-Sun champion Hatters shocked the Bulls in the eighth minute as Fredrik Brustad scored from 10 yards out to cap a counter-attack, but from then on the Bulls settled down and dominated play. South Florida tied the game in the 14 minute, Javed Mohammed’s corner from the right bending into the far post for Sebastian Thuriere to head home powerfully.

South Florida continued to carry the play for the remainder of the half, Stetson goalkeeper making an outstanding save to deny Bernardo Anor in the 21st minute, but Anor would give the Bulls the lead just under two minutes before the break, Mohammed again providing the cross from the left for the Venezuelan standout to head home from eight yards out.

Stetson came into the game a little more in the second half, but Bulls goalkeeper Jeff Attinella held the Hatters at bay for the final 45 minutes, allowing the Bulls to move on.
South Florida will now face No.1-ranked Akron on Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Zips went a perfect 20-0-0 through the regular season, and defeated the Bulls 3-1 when they faced each other in the preseason.

College Matchday: Stetson at No.16 South Florida

WHEN: Thursday, 7:30 p.m., USF Soccer Stadium

NEED TO KNOW: After almost a two-week break, South Florida begins the NCAA Division I Tournament with a match against a side it has already defeated this season. The Bulls (13-3-3) won 3-0 against the Hatters at the USF Soccer Stadium in their final preseason game, Jorge Mora, Fernando Gonzalez and Hasani Sinclair scoring for the Bulls that night.

After a slow start to his freshman season, Sinclair now leads the team in points with five goals and five assists for a total of 15. Bernardo Anor and Sebastian Thuriere have also scored five goals apiece for the Bulls, while Javed Mohammed leads the Bulls with nine assists.

The key to the Bulls’ success, however, has been their defensive play, with Big East Goalkeeper of the Year Jeff Attinella leading the way. The former Countryside standout has recorded a 0.76 goals against average for the season, including seven shutouts.

The Hatters (14-3-2) earned their way into the tournament by winning the Atlantic-Sun conference title with a 2-1 victory against Mercer on Saturday. Former Palm Harbor University standout Griffin Gilstrap scored both goals for Stetson in the title game, and he leads the Hatters with 11 goals. The Bulls will also need to keep an eye on Kevin Munz, who has 10 assists on the season.

College Matchday: Marquette at No.13 South Florida

WHEN: Thursday, 7:30 p.m., USF Soccer Stadium

NEED TO KNOW: South Florida will try to take the first step in the defense of its Big East title as it takes on a Marquette side that was one of only two teams to earn a point from its trip to the USF Soccer Stadium this season.

The Golden Eagles tied the Bulls 1-1 earlier in the season, but have struggled to find consistency in the past two weeks. Marquette defeated Pittsburgh 5-0 last Saturday, but that was its only win in its last four contests as it closed the regular season with a 3-0 defeat against Connecticut.

South Florida was on a five-game winning streak before it was upended 2-1 by Rutgers in double-overtime last Saturday. Over that time, Hasani Sinclair has found his scoring touch, and is now tied with Bernardo Anor for the team lead with five goals. The Bulls, who finished their second straight regular season with an undefeated home record, will look to extend what is an overall run of 28 games to advance though to face Notre Dame.

A trend the Bulls will hope to avoid, however, is following in the footsteps of their Big East counterparts who held home-field advantage in Wednesday’s other first round games. In all three instances, the lower seed, No.6-seed Rutgers and No.5-seeds Providence and DePaul, advanced through to the quarterfinals.

Colleges: Bulls miss out on bye, will face Marquette

No.9 South Florida will have to go an extra game if it wants to retain its Big East men’s soccer title this season.

The Bulls were knocked into third place in the Red division by St. John’s on Sunday. That means the Bulls miss out on an opening round bye and will have to play Blue Division No.6 seed Marquette on Thursday night.

South Florida could have clinched a bye with a win against Rutgers on Saturday, but a 2-1 double-overtime defeat allowed the Red Storm to leapfrog the Bulls in the standings with a 2-0 win against Syracuse on Sunday evening.

South Florida will face Marquette at the USF Soccer Stadium at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. The Bulls and Golden Eagles played to a 1-1 tie in Tampa earlier this season, Bernardo Anor giving the Bulls a first half lead before Adam Lysac tied the game in the second half.

Colleges: Bulls fall in overtime, could miss out on bye

No.9 South Florida ended the regular season on a sour note, as Andrew Cuevas gave host Rutgers a 2-1 victory in double-overtime that could end up giving the Bulls a No.3 seed, and no bye, in the Big East tournament.

That will be determined tonight when St. John’s faces Syracuse in a make-up game from Wednesday night. Should the Red Storm win, they would jump over the Bulls in the Red division, taking the No.2 seed and a first-round bye. The Bulls would then face Marquette on Wednesday night at the USF Soccer Stadium.

The Bulls had chances to take the lead in the first half, Bernardo Anor and Ogi Perucica both being denied by Scarlet Knights’ goalkeeper Adam Klink. Rutgers then took the lead in the first minute of the second half, Daniel Parr driving a shot Bulls goalkeeper Jeff Attinella couldn’t quite keep out of the net.

Hasani Sinclair tied the game for the Bulls in the 79th minute, weaving his way past a pair of defenders before striking home a decisive finish to tie the game. The Bulls hopes of taking all three points were dashed in early in the second overtime period, as Cuevas rose to head home a corner by Robbie McLarney to give the Scarlet Knights victory.

College Matchday: No.9 South Florida at Rutgers

WHEN: Saturday, 7 p.m., Yurcak Field

NEED TO KNOW: South Florida can seal a bye and home field for the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament as it closes out the regular season on the road against Rutgers. The Bulls trail Louisville by two points for the lead in the Red division, but a win would guarantee them at least second and a home game next Saturday.

The Scarlet Knights have qualified for the Big East tournament, sitting as the prospective No.6 seed in the Blue division. Currently 4-6 in Big East competition, Rutgers has had success against the Bulls in the past, winning three of the last four meetings between the two schools. They have lost their last two games, though, falling 2-0 to Louisville and 3-0 to Villanova in the past week.

The Bulls will look to continue the momentum they’ve built in a five-game winning streak, having scored 11 goals in that span. Zak Boggs’ outstanding free kick gave the Bulls victory against DePaul on Wednesday night, while leading scorer Bernardo Anor appeared to have recovered from a hip flexor that had him sidelined and could regain his starting position tonight.

Colleges: Boggs' free kick lifts Bulls to victory

TAMPA – Zak Boggs’ spectacular free kick in the 31st minute provided the only goal of the game as South Florida took a big step towards a bye and home field for the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament with a 1-0 win against DePaul on Wednesday night at the USF Soccer Stadium.

After Hasani Sinclair was pushed over from behind outside the DePaul penalty area to the left of center, Boggs saw DePaul goalkeeper Joe Ferrari cheating away from the right corner of the net, and fired a curling shot into the top right corner that Ferrari couldn’t recover in time to stop.

“Great goal by Zak,” Bulls coach George Kiefer said. “There wasn’t a lot of stuff to play quick one-twos and get behind them, they took that away, so we got it off the restart tonight.”

In fact, most of the Bull best opportunities came from outside the penalty area, as the Blue Demons played a compact, defensive formation that made it difficult for South Florida to create scoring chances inside the box. The long-range chances the Bulls were able to create were dealt with well for the most part by Ferrari, although he was only able to parry one shot by Boggs in the first half before recovering to thwart Sinclair’s rebound chance.

“It was pretty tough,” Boggs said. “They did compact the game, especially in the second half, but I thought our chances from distance were pretty good.”

Sebastian Thuriere in particular had a strong game, having a fierce shot well saved by Ferrari, and being energetic in midfield to win possession in the Blue Demons' half to set up potential openings. Bernado Anor also showed good energy off the bench after having sat out the past two games with a hip flexor, while Sinclair also had a chance turned away in the second half.

Most of DePaul’s best opportunities came in a late flurry as it tried to get back on even terms as time wound down. Despite a few scares Bulls goalkeeper Jeff Attinella, who was named Big East goalkeeper of the week for the third time this season on Monday, recorded his seventh shutout.

“I thought they’d come out a little more after we got the goal, but I didn’t see them do that too much other than the last 10 minutes of the game, but I felt like we handled that well,” Kiefer said. “I thought our movement, the chances we created were good, the closing off of their outlets keeping them pinned in their end was very good. I thought it was a very good performance tonight.”

The Bulls travel to Rutgers to close out the season on Saturday night. A victory would guarantee them a bye and home field as the No.2 seed from the Red division, and if it were to be coupled with a loss by Louisville against Villanova, the Bulls would earn the top seed in the bracket.

“I think we try not to make any game more important or less important, to have to right focus, and this group does a good job of coming out prepared for games,” Kiefer said. “We’ve got a very good road record as well this year, so we should be in good shape.”

College Matchday: DePaul at No.9 South Florida

WHEN: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., USF Soccer Stadium

NEED TO KNOW: No.9 South Florida will look to maintain its position in the Big East Red division as it faces DePaul, which sits two points behind the Bulls in the standings.

The Bulls enter on a four-game winning streak after coming back from a halftime deficit to defeat Villanova 3-1 on Saturday night. Hasani Sinclair found the net in that contest, his fourth goal of the season. Sinclair is now second on the team in goals, trailing only Bernardo Anor, who has five despite being out of action since the Bulls game against FAU on Oct. 14.

DePaul rebounded from a two-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory against Syracuse on Saturday night, the only home game for the Blue Demons in their final six regular season contests. After opening the season with a pair of victories against ranked opponents, the Blue Demons have now lost three straight against ranked opposition, including a 6-0 drubbing by Louisville on Oct.3. Alex Mangan and Steffen Vroom lead the Blue Demons with seven goals apiece, but the Bulls may be able to take advantage of a defense that has given up almost two goals per game for the season.

Colleges: Bulls find scoring touch, hold off FAU

South Florida scored twice in the first 15 minutes, but needed an insurance marker from Sebastian Thuriere with eight minutes to go before Florida Atlantic’s late effort gave the Bulls a test at the USF Soccer Stadium on Wednesday night.

Everthing appeared to be plain sailing for the Bulls (8-2-2) as they took the lead in the sixth minute on a goal by Hasani Sinclar as saw that lead double nine minutes later through Bernardo Anor. Holding the Owls without a shot on goal in the first half further established a sense of control for the Bulls.

But the Owls hit back nine minutes after the break, as a pair of former Tampa high school standouts teamed up to score. Xavi Pecora (Jesuit) received a pass from Darnell King (Gaither), and fired a shot past Bulls goalkeeper Jeff Attinella into the top left corner to make the score 2-1.

Thuriere restored the Bulls two-goal advantage in the 83rd minute, Ogi Perucica and Zak Boggs linking up before Thuriere finished, but King made the final three minutes nervy for the Bulls, scoring his third goal of the season in the 87th minute.

The win was the Bulls first in three games, and they will hope to carry the goalscoring portion of the game on into Saturday’s return to Big East play. The Bulls travel to play a Syracuse team that has struggled to find form all season. The Orange’s only Big East win came on Oct. 2 against Rutgers, and since then they have been on a three-game losing streak, giving up nine goals.

College Matchday: Florida Atlantic at No.12 South Florida

WHEN: Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., USF Soccer Stadium

NEED TO KNOW: The No.12 Bulls take a momentary break from their Big East schedule, and will look to get back on track against Florida Atlantic.

The Bulls (7-2-2, 3-2-2) had their first winless week of the season after a loss to Louisville and tie against St. John’s, dropping them nine places in the National Soccer Coaches Association of American poll. The Bulls attack in particular has struggled of late, with only Bernardo Anor and Zak Boggs having more than one goal this season.

The Owls (4-4-2, 0-2-0) have lost two straight Mid-American Conference games, a 1-0 loss to Hartwick coming in their last outing. The Bulls defeated the Owls 3-0 last season, but could get a tough test from a side that has had a number of low-scoring games this contest. The Owls have only allowed 10 goals in 10 games, but have only scored eight themselves, Darnell King (Gaither High) and Sean Hart each having a pair apiece.

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.

Colleges: No.3 Bulls rebound with victory against Pittsburgh

Goals by Andre Mittoo and Bernardo Anor allowed No.3 South Florida to rebound from its first loss of the season as the Bulls beat Pittsburgh 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Founders Field.

Mittoo gave the Bulls (6-1-1, 2-1-1 Big East) the lead in the 16th minute, capitalizing on a rebound after Ashani Fairslough had been initially denied.

Bulls coach George Kiefer said he thought the Bulls aggressiveness was crucial to their overall performance on a poor surface that had taken on a lot of water over the past two days.

“On this type of surface (rough and bumpy) we really wanted to push the game into their half of the field,” said Kiefer. “We played out backs very aggressive and stepped up the pressure. We also changed up our formations which is something that we have been working on, and I think we are getting good enough where we can slide into something different if we need to in certain games.”

The Bulls maintained their hold on the game throughout the first half, and then started the second half brightly too. That led to a 52nd minute penalty kick that was converted by Anor to give the Bulls a 2-0 lead.

Pittsburgh (1-8-0, 0-4-0) pulled a goal back with five minutes to go, but the Bulls held on to earn victory. After losing its first game of the season on Friday night against West Virginia, Kiefer was pleased with the team’s performance.

“I thought the guys did a very good job today,” Kiefer said. “Pitt is one of the more difficult places to play with its field, couple that with the fact that is has been raining the past few days, so it was a very muddy surface and we had to tweak the way we played. But I thought that our guys did a great job with that.”

College Matchday: No.3 South Florida at West Virginia

WHEN: Friday, 8 p.m., Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium

NEED TO KNOW: The Bulls will try to maintain their undefeated start to the season, and their historical upper hand over the Mountaineers, as they travel to Morgantown. The Bulls hold an 11-3-2 record all-time against West Virginia, including 6-1-1 in the last eight meetings.

West Virginia defeated Cincinnati 2-0 after opening Big East play with a 2-0 loss to No.16 Louisville. Goals have been hard to come by so far for the Mountaineers, with the side having scored only four goals in six games, but that has been made up for by a stingy defense. Goalkeeper Zach Johnson has only allowed five goals in six games, and has three shutouts on the season.

The Bulls have been boosted by the return to the starting line-up of Bernardo Anor, who had a goal and an assist last weekend as the Bulls defeated Notre Dame and tied Marquette. The Bulls also boast a strong defensive record, with goalkeeper Jeff Attinella having recorded three shutouts on his way to a 0.48 goals against average. The Bulls will move on to Pittsburgh following Friday night’s game to face the Panthers on Sunday.