University of South Florida
St. John's*
Bulls To Play Must-Win Game Sunday In Syracuse
October 20, 2006 | Women's Soccer
QUEENS, N.Y. (Oct. 20, 2006) ? The University of South Florida women's soccer team lost, 1-0, to the St. John's Red Storm Friday night at Belson Stadium in Queens, N.Y.
USF will play Syracuse in a must-win game on Sunday in order to earn a BIG EAST Conference Tournament berth. Kick-off for the final game of the regular season is at noon in Syracuse, N.Y.
In the first half of Friday night's game with the Red Storm, the Bulls played against the wind, fighting the 25 mile-per-hour gusts and 40-degree weather.
Nine minutes into the game, senior Michelle Buskey led junior Lindsay Brauer across the middle of the field with a through ball, but the scoring attempt was halted as Red Storm goal keeper Jaime Beran broke up the play.
In the 26th minute of the game, Ebony Robinson took USF's only shot of the half, a play that began with a Brauer pass from Buskey. Robinson's shot was attempted from the right side of the box, but was blocked by Beran.
The Red Storm capitalized off a corner kick in the 36th minute of the game as Courtney Lane placed the corner kick in the middle of the box where Vaila Barsley headed the ball into the net for the 1-0 lead.
At the half St. John's held onto their 1-0 advantage, also leading in shots, 4-1, while taking five more corner kicks than USF.
After switching ends of the field for the second period, the Bulls were able to control possession of the ball and take a more offensive approach to the game, due to the wind.
Brauer opened the half with a break-away run from the midfield to the top of the 18-yard box, but her shot was stopped Beran sliding in front of the net. The save was deflected out of bounds, leading to USF's 50th corner kick of the season. The Bulls were unable to capitalize off the corner kick that was cleared by the Red Storm.
At the other end of the field, the Red Storm took a shot from the top of the box, but USF goalkeeper Casey Garrett made a diving save to her right to end the St. John's play.
In the 82nd minute, USF's Paulina McIntosh attempted the Bulls' only shot on goal, a ball that was partially saved by Beran. The ball deflected off the keeper's hands and struck the right post, but Beran was able to recover from her dive and corral the ball before it could trickle into the net.
McIntosh ended the game with two shots while Robinson and Erin Dafeldecker each had one. Garrett made three saves in the game and allowed one in the team's seventh BIG EAST loss of the year.
The Bulls are now 6-9-1 overall and 3-7-0 in the BIG EAST Conference while the Red Storm improved to 9-3-4, 5-2-3 in the conference.
