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.

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.

Colleges: Bulls fall in shootout in Big East Quarterfinals

Holding a two-goal lead midway through the first half, and appearing to have control of its Big East Tournament quarterfinal at Notre Dame, things were looking good for No.13 South Florida to advance to next weekend’s semifinals, and a chance to retain its title.

Then, everything went wrong.

Notre Dame scored goals just before both halftime and the end of regulation to tie the game 2-2 and send the game to overtime, and the Fighting Irish then kept their nerve to win a shootout 5-4 to advance to face Louisville on Friday night.

Jorge Mora had given the Bulls the lead in the third minute, taking advantage of good work by Sebastian Thuriere and Hasani Sinclair to score his fourth goal of the season. Thuriere would then head home from Kevin Olali’s cross to put the Bulls up 2-0 in the 23rd minute.

But after taking their lead, the Bulls let the Irish back into the game, as Notre Dame spurned a pair of chances before pulling a goal back in the 43rd minute, Bright Dike scoring after being put through by Michael Thomas.

Less than a minute later, the Bulls were reduced to 10 men as Francisco Aristeguieta was sent off for his second yellow card. Playing a man down for the entire second half, the Bulls did a good job of restricting the number of shots that got through to goalkeeper Jeff Attinella, and almost caught the Irish to restore their two-goal lead when Thuriere had his header cleared off the goalline by Thomas.

The Bulls resistance was finally broken down in the 83rd minute as Aaron Maund headed in off the post to tie the game, sending it to overtime.

Thomas was again the hero for the Irish in overtime, clearing a shot by Bernardo Anor off the goalline, but neither side was able to break the deadlock in the extra 20 minutes, sending the game to a shootout. There, all five Notre Dame shooters beat Attinella. The Bulls matching them shot for shot until the fifth round, when Thuriere fired his effort off the crossbar, sending the Irish through.

The Bulls should still get an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament, but won’t find out until next Sunday where and when they will next take the field.

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: 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.”

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.

College Matchday: Cincinnati at No.6 South Florida

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

NEED TO KNOW: The Bulls (6-1-1, 2-1-1 Big East) will look to build on its victory against Pittsburgh last Sunday as they host Big East Red Division rival Cincinnati (7-3-0, 2-2-0) in an important conference game.

The Bearcats have had an up-and-down start to Big East play, but have won their last two games in succession, a 1-0 win against Notre Dame and a 2-1 overtime victory against Xavier. Cincinnati leads the Big East in scoring, averaging 1.90 goals per game. The Bearcats attack has been balanced, though, with Nick Weightman, Branden Stelmak and Mark Konitsch all having three goals.

That will give Bulls standout goalkeeper Jeff Attinella and his defense a test. Attinella has been outstanding all season, holding a 0.61 goals against average and .894 save percentage so far this season. The Bulls currently trail Rutgers in the Red division, but have played one game fewer than the Scarlet Knights so far, and could jump into first place with a victory tonight.

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: West Virginia hands No.3 USF its first loss

West Virginia’s Abel Sebele scored just over a minute into overtime as the Mountaineers handed No.3 South Florida its first loss of the season 1-0 on Friday night at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

Sebele seized on a pass by Alex Silva to slot his shot past advancing Bulls goalkeeper Jeff Attinella with 72 seconds gone in the extra period, sending the West Virginia players into a frenzied pile of celebration near the right corner flag.

Attinella had been the Bulls best player, and it was he that had allowed the game to go to overtime with a number of outstanding saves that kept the game scoreless. Most notable was a point-blank save early in the second half off a header by Moeryhan Doue after a perfectly played cross from the left by Ryan Gillespie found him at the far post, Attinella turning the ball away from just inside the post.

Attinella also made an excellent stop just before the end of regulation, getting down to his left to turn away a low, angled shot towards the right corner of the net from Doue on a late break down the Mountaineers left side.

South Florida, on the other hand, wasn’t sharp in the attacking third, failing to force West Virginia goalkeeper Zach Johnson into a single save while only attempting three shots overall.

The Bulls will have to regroup quickly as they now travel to Pittsburgh to face the Panthers on Sunday at 1 p.m., no doubt looking for a far improved performance.

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.