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.

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: 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: 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.

Catching up with ... Ogi Perucica

It’s been a little over three years since I got to sit down and talk with senior USF forward Ogi Perucica. Then, it was because I was writing a feature story on Perucica, who was the 2006 Tampa Tribune All-Hillsborough Player of the Year for Wharton High.

Since then, Perucica has grown into a member of the Bulls line-up, taking on a bigger role this season with the graduation of former Bulls standout Jordan Seabrook. On schedule to graduate in May with a degree in marketing, Perucica took time to sit down and talk about his time at USF and Wharton, and his future.

Tampa Bay Soccer Blog: What have the last four years been like playing soccer for USF?

Perucica: It’s just a completely different level from what I was used to. I’ve elevated my game so much, just with the international guys that we’ve got coming in, the national team players and the coaching staff. It’s been a great experience.

TBSB: When you were coming in here, the season before USF had been the Big East champions, and it seemed as though in 2006, when you were a freshmen, it started that new cycle. Now, though, it seems as though there’s going to be a continuous cycle of quality. Have you seen that development as you’ve come through the program?

Perucica: Yeah, sure, I mean my freshman year we didn’t make the NCAA Tournament. That was the year where we got ourselves together, got the players that we needed and so on, and ever since 2006, my freshman year, we’ve gone further and further. Players are wanting to come to the school, last year we made it to the Elite 8 as well, won the Big East championship. It’s a great school, great weather out here, players are wanting to come, and the coaching staff does a great job of recruiting the guys who fit the team. They usually look for people with great attitudes, as well as soccer players, so that we all click together as a team. They don’t want individuals, they want one team, that’s what they try to do.

TBSB: Has it been nice to be part of that growth from your freshman year to your senior year?

Perucica: It’s been a building experience, every year we’ve been taking it one step further. We’re doing team activities all the time, especially during preseason, we do things outside the soccer field, we got out and do stuff together, hang out. It’s a good team to be with, it’s fun.

TBSB: Coach Kiefer seems like a tough guy to play for, but he’s very earnest in what he demands of the team.

Perucica: He demands a lot of us, just like any other coach, but he has a good way of getting the best out of you. He knows how to talk to people, and motivates you to do better and better and better.

TBSB: Let’s go back to your high school career at Wharton. When you think back, is it disappointing that with the players you had on that team that you weren’t able to accomplish more as a high school team?

Perucica: Sure, we definitely had some talented players in my high school days, but high school is weird. There’s ups and downs, you never know. It could be this team’s night, it could be the other team’s night. It’s unfortunate we didn’t win a state championship, we actually won it the year after I left, but it was a disappointment to me that we didn’t win.

TBSB Note: The Wildcats actually won in 2008, two years after Pericica graduated, with a 2-1 win against St. Thomas Aquinas in the final.

TBSB: Do you still stay in touch with some of the players and coaches from that team?

Perucica: Oh yeah, Christian Silva is here (on the USF roster), I stay in touch with Coach (Mike) Rowan as well, we talk every once in a while just to see how he’s going. There’s still a friendship.

TBSB: You stay in touch with (New York Red Bulls player) Nick Zimmerman?

Perucica: Yeah, actually me and him played in a summer league for the Brandon Flames, so we got to travel some places together, so we stay in touch.

TBSB: When you found out he’d been drafted earlier this year by New York, how did you react to that knowing that someone you had played with growing up had made it to MLS?

Perucica: It just felt great. It gave me more motivation to do better and to keep on playing and playing so I can be there one day like he is. Just gave me a whole different view of things.

TBSB: Would that be something you’d be interested in? Is there that thought in your mind that although you’re about to graduate that maybe there’s something for me out there as a professional?

Perucica: I think every player’s dream is to go pro. I would personally like to go to Europe and play. I have a bunch of family out there, so I’m planning on once I graduate to move back to Europe and try a career over there.

TBSB: Where would you be moving to?

Perucica: First place would be Germany. I have a brother there, a couple of people there, so Germany, then if it doesn’t work out there, travel around, see what happens.

TBSB: You guys won the Big East championship last year, reached the Elite 8, and it seems like this is the first year where there is serious expectation put on the program from outside the program.

Perucica: I believe we’re the No.1 team in Florida, D-I wise, and like every year, people expect something from us, especially this year. Two years ago we made it to the Sweet 16, last year we made it to the Elite 8, people just want more and more. We’ve got a good crowd coming out, our first game we had a bunch of people come out watching us. I think people are behind us, watching us. They want us to do well.

TBSB: Is it exciting to see that, the number of fans that are starting to come out to games?

Perucica: It gives you so much more energy out on the field. You want to perform for them, they’ve come out to see you, you want to give them a good time.

TBSB: Are there certain goals the team has set that if it didn’t attain them, the season would be a disappointment?

Perucica: Yes, actually, our coach has this thing where we all write down goals, we get together as a team and we all have to sign it. Goals in the classroom, out on the field, behavior-wise. Goals like winning the Big East again, GPA-wise, outside the classroom, inside the classroom, on the field, outside of the field, we all set goals. It’s put up in our locker room, actually, with all our signatures on it.

TBSB: That’s got to be something to look at when you walk past it.

Perucica: It’s right next to the door.

TBSB: What do you think the best thing you’ll take away from USF is? Is it going to be what you’ve learnt on the soccer field, or the fact that you’re going to be graduating in the spring?

Perucica: I think it’s a little bit of both. Outside of the field, it’s been managing my time, getting to know people, talking to people class-wise. On the field it’s the great players I’ve been with. I don’t want to give it up, I just want to continue with it. I’m happy out there when I’m on the field.

TBSB: Even if you don’t end up turning pro, I’m sure you’ll want to stay involved with soccer.

Perucica: Oh yeah, I think every player that can’t go pro wants to be a coach. I coach the little guys out at Temple Terrace, and it’s fun just being around the game. I’ve been around it long enough myself, I don’t want to give it up at all.

TBSB: What do you think the biggest thing is that soccer has taught you over the years?

Perucica: I think it’s staying focused, not drifting off like other kids going in the wrong direction. It gave me a path, and that path was college, staying close to family friends. It kept me on the right path.

TBSB: It’s a pretty exciting time of year, the start of the season.

Perucica: Getting through preseason is tough, but you get through preseason, we have our second game coming up (on Saturday). I just want to get the season going. The guys came in fit, it’s the fittest we ever came in this year, coach is excited, the players are excited, we all want to see how it’s going to turn out.