South Florida's Aristeguieta named Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year

South Florida’s Francisco Aristeguieta has become the second consecutive Bull to be named the Big East Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, following in the footsteps of teammate Zak Boggs, the 2008-09 winner of the award.

Aristeguieta will receive a $4,000 scholarship that can be applied to graduate or professional studies.

"I think that this is a reflection of a lot of hard work, because that is the mentality that is instilled in us here at USF," Aristeguieta said in a school press release. "Our advisors and our coaches are always telling us to work as hard as we possibly can. I am honored to receive the award, and equally as honored to represent the school in earning this award."

Aristeguieta was a captain for the Bulls for the past two seasons, starting 20 games in 2009 principally as a central midfielder and recording three assists. Bulls coach George Keifer said he was very proud of Aristeguieta having won the award.

"This is a tremendous honor," Kiefer said. "While this is the second year in a row for a member of our program to win this award, I think that the main focus is on Francisco winning it. He has served as a two-year captain for our program and has really been a leader, and for him to be picked for this award from all the great student-athletes in the Big East shows a lot about him and his character. I think that is why he has been such a great captain that past two years."

This is only the second time in the award’s history that it has been awarded to members of the same school, with Villanova having won the award in three straight years from 1987-89.

Colleges: Attinella named to NSCAA All-America First Team

South Florida goalkeeper Jeff Attinella has been named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Performance Subaru All-American First Team, the school announced in a press release on Friday, crowning what has been an outstanding junior season for the former Countryside High standout.

Attinella allowed only 18 goals in 21 games for a 0.83 goals against average, posting seven shutouts. He was named as the Big East goalkeeper of the week three times, and was the conference’s Goalkeeper of the Year.

“I am extremely excited to have received this honor," Attinella said in the release. "When you grow up and then become a college player, you dream about receiving awards like this. I am just very grateful that I, and our team, could have the kind of year that put me in the position to be named All-American."

Bulls coach George Kiefer said he was extremely pleased that Attinella’s performances throughout the season had been recognized.

"Jeff is certainly a very worthy recipient of this honor,” Kiefer said in the release. "I have said it since the very beginning of the year; Jeff is the best goalkeeper in the nation and now it is obvious that a lot of other coaches out there feel the same way. I couldn't be happier for him."

Also honored on Friday was Bulls assistant coach Ryan Anatol, who was named the NSCAA's Assistant Coach of the Year for the Northeast Region.

A former player for the Bulls from 1997-2000, Anatol has been crucial to the Bulls success on the field, and also in their recruiting efforts. Since joining the program as an assistant in 2005, the Bulls have had 23 players named to the Big East All-Conference team, with nine being named to All-Region teams, and Attinella joining Yohance Marshall as the second NSCAA All-American in that span.

"I believe Ryan is well deserving of the award and I'm very happy for him," Kiefer said. "Ryan is one of the hardest working assistants in the country."

Anatol's regional award also makes him eligible for the Glenn "Mooch" Myernick National Assistant Coach of the Year Award, which will be presented on Jan. 15 at the NSCAA Awards Banquet.

Colleges: Mora, Thuriere lead No.13 Bulls to victory

Jorge Mora and Sebastian Thuriere each found the net as No.13 South Florida moved into the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament with a 2-1 victory against Marquette at the USF Soccer Stadium on Thursday night.

The Bull opened brightly, using high pressure to force Marquette into mistakes, and that led to early opportunities for Hasani Sinclair and Zak Boggs, both of whom were denied by Golden Eagles goalkeeper Matt Pyzdrowski. The Bulls pressure finally told when Mora gave them the lead in the 15th minute, driving his left-footed shot home from 13 yards after picking up a pass from Sinclair.

“It felt good as soon as I hit it,” Mora said. “It was just a question of whether the goalie was going to get to it. It was pretty exciting.”

The Bulls controlled the bulk of play in the first half, and had other chances to extend their lead before the break as Mora turned creator for Sinclair, only for the striker to shoot wide.

Marquette opened the second half better, but was unable to tie the game, and Thuriere gave the Bulls a two-goal cushion in the 77th minute as he headed home from Javed Mohammed’s cross from the left. The goal proved important as Adam Lysak pulled a goal back for the Golden Eagles three minutes later, but the Bulls held on for victory.

“We were a little disappointed to give up the goal,” Bulls coach George Kiefer said, “but I didn’t see the team get too low, and I think we created a couple more chances after that.”

The Bulls will now face Notre Dame in the tournament quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon. The Bulls defeated the Fighting Irish 2-1 earlier this season, Mora’s header with seven minutes to go off a cross by Bernado Anor giving the Bulls’ victory in that contest.

“Notre Dame is a good team, and Bobby Clark is a very good coach so it’s going to be a fun game for us,” Kiefer said.

Preps: Bucs standout Roehn commits to South Florida

Berkeley Prep standout T.J. Roehn has committed to South Florida to continue his soccer career, joining his Clearwater Chargers teammate and Palm Harbor University standout Ben Sweat in committing to the Bulls.

Roehn had narrowed his choices to USF, Villanova and Pittsburgh, but after visiting with the Bulls recently he decided that staying in Tampa was the right choice for him.

“USF has always been really good, and I wanted to play for a team that has good facilities and has had a good history,” Roehn said.

According to Roehn, the Bulls showed interest in him from the first day they were allowed to make contact with him, and he has appreciated the advice given to him by USF coach George Kiefer.

“He’s always been very honest with me,” Roehn said. “USF was one of the first teams to call me on the first day they could call their recruits. They’ve always been very interested, and I’ve only heard good things about them.

“I believe (USF) will get a national championship soon, so that’s what I’m looking to do.”

Roehn scored 26 goals and added 21 assists as the Buccaneers reached the Class 3A state championship game a season ago.

Colleges: Bulls disappointed, but focused on Marquette

TAMPA – The disappointment of missing out on a bye in the first round of the Big East tournament has dissipated for No.13 South Florida, which is now firmly focused on one of the two teams that held the Bulls to a tie on their home field in the regular season.

“When you look at it, we would have liked the bye, but there’s nothing we can look back and do about it now, we get to have a home game on Thursday,” said goalkeeper Jeff Attinella after Tuesday morning’s practice.

Marquette earned a point at the USF Soccer Stadium in both side's opening game of the Big East schedule, Bernardo Anor’s opening goal being cancelled out by Adam Lysak’s finish in the second half. The Bulls had a late chance to earn victory, but Javed Mohammed sent his penalty kick wide in the final minute of regulation.

In that contest Marquette used a tight, defensive system and tried to hit the Bulls on the counter-attack, but South Florida coach George Kiefer said the Golden Eagles have made some changes since the two teams played in September.

“I think they’re a better team, they have some guys that were out for their first game that are now starting that make them better, so I think the two games will be completely different,” Kiefer said. “I think we’re better, I think they’re better, but we’ll keep focusing on South Florida. We can’t control what Marquette is going to do, so we’ll just try to get sharper at what we do.”

An inward focus has been at the forefront of practice, with captain Francisco Aristeguieta believing that if the Bulls just need to concentrate on doing what they do well.

“We’re really trying to focus on getting our things better, trying to get a little better every day,” Aristeguieta said. “We don’t change for any team, so we just try to do the things we do a little better every time.”

Attinella said that the result against Rutgers apart, the Bulls are playing their best soccer of the season at the right moment, but that they are expecting Marquette to come in to the game confident because of the prior result. Kiefer, though, expects the fact that the Golden Eagles did earn a point in their last trip to Tampa to be a motivating factor for a good performance by his side.

“They’re one of the few teams that took a couple of points from us at home, so I think that lends itself to be a great opportunity for our guys,” Kiefer said. “It’s not often you get a chance at a team that took points from you, so I look forward to that.”

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.”

Colleges: Boggs leads Bulls to win over Orange

Zak Boggs gave No.12 South Florida a first half lead, and a pair of late goals put the game away as the Bulls maintained second place in the Big East Red division with a 3-0 victory in frigid conditions at Syracuse’s SU Soccer Stadium on Saturday night.

"This was a very good win for us," Bulls coach George Kiefer said. "It was good to see Zak (Boggs) get on the board again. I think that once he got one goal that he would start to score more, for him to get the game-winner was great.”

The Orange (2-12-0, 1-7-0 Big East) came out strongly to start the game, but the Bulls (9-2-2, 4-2-2) were able to weather the early pressure, and Boggs struck in the 30th minute, bending a direct free kick around the defensive wall and into the left corner of the net.

The goal was Boggs’ third of the season, and he almost added his fourth shortly after halftime only for his shot to come back off the post. Sebastian Thuriere finally gave the Bulls and insurance goal in the 76th minute as he took advantage of a pass by Jorge Mora. Hasani Sinclair added his third of the season five minutes later to put the game away.

Kiefer said he was pleased with what he was seeing from his side going forward, the Bulls having scored six goals in their past two games.

“I think what you’re starting to see now is that these guys are starting to get much more relaxed and are just playing and not looking to get goals, but to just play good soccer and because of that the goals are starting to come," Kiefer said.

South Florida completes its non-conference schedule on Wednesday at it is visited by No.20 Dartmouth, the first of three straight games at the USF Soccer Stadium.

Colleges: Bulls quickly put poor week behind them

TAMPA – While No.12 South Florida is coming off its first winless week of the season, the side has already put the results last week against Louisville and St. John’s behind them.

“The past is the past, and we’re moving on one day at a time around here,” Bulls midfielder Zak Boggs said.

Bulls coach George Kiefer said the loss to Louisville was a little bit similar to the Bulls first loss of the season on the road at West Virginia. The Bulls weren’t able to establish their game and instead gave the Cardinals the opportunity to play the game they wanted to.

“Somewhat similar, but not identical,” Kiefer said. “I think it’s important we know who we are, and play like South Florida plays. I think that game at Louisville was played more like how Louisville likes to play, so that’s us not taking control of that, and I feel like now that we’ve been through that, we recognize that, and we just make it a priority that games feel and play like we like them to play.”

Boggs said he thought the Bulls didn’t play to the best of their ability against either Louisville or St. John’s, but couldn’t put his finger on a specific reason why.

“There’s a number of factors that go into things,” Boggs said. “We trained hard and we try to look at the best we can, we never take anyone too lightly, we never take anyone too seriously, I don’t really have an explanation for it.”

Kiefer said he hoped the pair of tough games would prepare the Bulls for the stretch run.

“When we met August 14, we didn’t say we’d have an easy journey to where we wanted to go,” Kiefer said. “I think the adversity can only help us and the way I see the guys responding, I think it’ll make us stronger in the end.”

OWLS VISIT: South Florida faces Florida Atlantic on Wednesday night, and is anticipating a good game from the Owls.

“We like Florida Atlantic in that they play soccer,” Kiefer said. “They’re going to come here and try to beat us, they won’t come and sit in, they’ll go after us. They have talented players, even for the crowd, it should be a good soccer game. It always is.”

FAU has former Jesuit standout Xavi Pecora and Gaither’s Darnell King among the local players on its roster, King leading the team with six points (two goals, two assists) in seven starts.

Colleges: No.3 Bulls take draw against St. John's

No.3 South Florida held a halftime lead, but was pegged back by St. John’s in the second half as the two sides played to a 1-1 tie on Saturday night at the USF Soccer Stadium.

Looking to bounce back after a 1-0 loss to No.12 Louisville on Wednesday, the Bulls (7-2-2, 3-2-2 Big East) took the lead in the 41st minute. A long ball downfield from Bulls goalkeeper Jeff Attinella came to Ogi Perucica, who flicked a shot over advancing St. John’s goalkeeper Derby Carillo, only for the shot to come back off the crossbar. The ball rebounded to Zak Boggs on the left side of the penalty area, and he struck a bicycle kick into the net to give the Bulls the lead.

“It was a great goal, and I’m happy for Zak,” Bulls coach George Kiefer said. “I think you’ll see Zak get some more goals. He’s taken the pressure off himself.”

The Bulls wouldn’t be able to hold on to their advantage, though, as St. John’s (3-2-6, 2-1-4) evened the game in the 61st minute, a free kick by Wegge Gundhus being tucked away by Adam Himeno after the ball came to him in the penalty area.

Both sides had chances to earn victory, South Florida firing off four shots in a two-minute span and St. John’s forcing Attinella into nine saves, but neither side was able to break the deadlock in regulation or either period of overtime.

“I felt like there were times where we could have won the game, and there were times where they could have won the game,” Kiefer said. “I thought that was a good, good match.”

The Bulls play their final non-conference game of the season at home on Wednesday night as Florida Atlantic comes to Tampa before they travel to Syracuse next Saturday.

College Matchday: St. John's at No.3 South Florida

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

NEED TO KNOW: South Florida will look to rebound from its second loss of the season as it hosts a St. John’s program that could leapfrog the Bulls in the Big East Red division standings with a victory.

The Bulls (7-2-1, 3-2-1 Big East) fell 1-0 to No.12 Louisville on Wednesday night as the Cardinals dominated the game. The Bulls only managed four shots, didn’t force a corner, and committed 17 fouls. Bulls coach George Kiefer was disappointed with the way his side performed, and will be looking to a more resolute performance against the Red Storm.

St. John's (3-2-5, 2-1-3) has had a relatively disappointing season. After being ranked No.5 in Division I to open the season, and being picked to win the Big East Red division, the Red Storm has been held to ties in half of its games. Now unranked, they defeated Rutgers 2-0 on Wednesday night after recording three ties and a loss in their previous four games.

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: Kiefer looking for more thoughtful decision-making

TAMPA – If there’s one thing No.6 South Florida men’s coach George Kiefer would like to see improvement in from his team, it is the Bulls’ decision-making.

Kiefer said that in the Bulls’ opening loss of the season to West Virginia on Friday night, he thought his side played into the Mountaineers’ hands by giving possession away in areas where they could counter-attack quickly, using their pace to create scoring opportunities at the South Florida end of the field.

“I think we fed them a lot with how we played,” Kiefer said after Tuesday’s practice. “I think we allowed them to get stronger as the game went on by how we were playing everything in front of them, with our giveaways. They are a very good team in transition, I think if we played that game again, we would take that transition away by how we attack and the decisions we make.”

The Bulls fared far better in their game against Pittsburgh, a 2-1 victory on Sunday. Played on a heavily wet field, so much so that the field was shifted to avoid large areas of water build-up, Kiefer thought his side played a far more intelligent game against the Panthers. Still, the Bulls were still working on putting pressure on opposing defenses, and being more clinical in their finishing in practice.

“I think if we keep growing and we learn from that, really that could be a big thing for us,” Kiefer said. “To really go into a game knowing what another team is looking for, and being intelligent with how we’re attacking.

“We have so much emphasis on keeping the ball and possessing it that at times it can hurt us. I think if we can grow with how we play certain teams, because I know we’re going to see a lot of (defensive) numbers and teams that are just looking to counter and transition on us and get numbers behind the ball, I think the majority of our games are going to be that way, how do we handle that?”

AWESOME ATTINELLA: Bulls goalkeeper Jeff Attinella continued his standout season with a great performance against West Virginia that allowed the game to reach overtime.

“Jeff is coming up big, and I think that helps us,” Kiefer said. “(It) deflates a team where they have a big chance and he robs them of a goal.”

While many goalkeepers can be overly demonstrative, a cliched image of a goalkeeper is one of someone continually unhappy and shouting at his defenders, Kiefer believes Attinella’s calm demeanour allows his defenders, and the rest of the team, to play their game.

“Jeff had a good way of handling himself,” Kiefer said. “He keeps calm, he’s rewarding of defenders when they do good work, he’s not one of these goalkeepers that’s always looking at what the guys aren’t doing, because then they start tuning you out. I think he brings very good leadership and we always feel good about any game because we have Jeff back there.”

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.”