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: 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.

College Matchday: Villanova at No.13 South Florida

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

NEED TO KNOW: South Florida will try to maintain pressure on first-place Louisville in the Big East Red division while trying to protect its position as it faces Villanova, a side it has defeated in all four previous meetings.

The Wildcats (8-5-2, 4-3-1) sit in third place in the Red division, one point behind the Bulls in the standings, and enter the game on a two-game winning streak. Mike Seamon scored his fourth goal of the season to give Villanova a 1-0 victory against Columbia on Tuesday. Kyle Soroka leads the Wildcat with five goals, while Seamon has added seven assists.

The Bulls (10-2-2, 4-2-2) also faced Ivy League opposition in their last outing, Jorge Mora’s goal giving the Bulls victory against No.15 Dartmouth on Wednesday night. The Bulls remain undefeated at home this season, and have now gone over two years since their last loss at the USF Soccer Stadium, holding a 26-game undefeated streak entering Saturday’s contest.

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: 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 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.

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.