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.

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.

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.

College Matchday: No.15 Dartmouth at No.13 South Florida

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

NEED TO KNOW: South Florida will look to extend its two-game winning streak as it faced another Top 25 team in Dartmouth for its final non-conference game of the season.

The Big Green defeated Penn 3-0 on Sunday night to remain perfect in the Ivy League, and are led by Daniel Keat who has seven goals and five assists in 11 games this season. Dartmouth has also been tight defensively, only allowing 6.4 shots against per game this season.

That, and Dartmouth goalkeeper Sean Donovan’s 1.16 goals against average, will likely be tested against a Bulls attack that appears to have come into form recently. South Florida has scored six goals over the past two games, including a 3-0 drubbing of Syracuse on Saturday night that saw Sebastian Thuriere have a goal and an assist and Javed Mohammed record two assists for the Bulls. Zak Boggs and Hasani Sinclair have also started finding the net, now with three goals apiece for the season, which has taken a little pressure off Jeff Attinella and the Bulls defense.

The game can be seen on the Bright House Sports Network, Channel 47 on the cable system.

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.”