STORRS, Conn. (Sunday, Nov. 13) ? A goal by O'Brian White early in the contest proved to be the difference as the University of South Florida men's soccer team (12-6-1, 9-2-0 BIG EAST) fell to the University of Connecticut Huskies (15-3-1, 7-3-1 BIG EAST), 1-0, in the BIG EAST Championship Game on Sunday, Nov. 13 in Storrs, Conn. Making their first-ever appearance in the BIG EAST Finals, the Bulls dropped only their second contest in the last nine outings with the one-goal loss.

“I think that we were a little overwhelmed by the atmosphere early on,” said head coach George Kiefer. “We were on our heels during the first fifteen minutes and that cost us. You don't want to give up an early goal to Connecticut as good as they are defensively. But, I thought after that we made some adjustments and stepped up our pressure. I think that we created some decent chances, but not enough to get through on them.”

UConn got on the board with a goal in the 13th minute by White. Connecticut forward Stanley Ford crossed the ball into the 18-yard box where White headed a shot into the back of the net. The Huskies nearly scored a second goal one minute later with a shot by White. White chipped the ball over Dane Brenner, who was charging off of his line. Defender Kareem Smith cleared the ball off of the line to keep the score at 1-0.

USF almost tied the game in the 42nd minute on a quick counter. Simon Schoendorf found a streaking Jordan Seabrook at the edge of the UConn area. From the left side of the area, Seabrook took a shot to the far post, just wide of the net.

After starting the first half a little slow, the Bulls picked up the pace and gained possession of the ball for most of the later part on the opening frame. Entering halftime, USF trailed UConn in shots 5-2.

The Huskies had a good scoring chance in the 64th minute. Chukwudi Chijindu got behind the USF defense with only Benner to beat. The High Point, N.C., native charged off his line, causing the UConn forward to take his attack wide. Defender Yohance Marshall got in front on the Husky attack, resulting in a corner kick.

USF created a number of scoring chances during the second half, however they could not capitalize, falling to Connecticut, 1-0.

With the loss, USF moves to 1-1-1 all-time in the BIG EAST Championship, and 0-4-0 all-time versus UConn.

Seeding for the 2005 NCAA Tournament will be announced during the NCAA Selection Show on ESPNews at 4 p.m. (ET) on Monday, Nov. 14.