TAMPA, Fla. ? The No. 20 University of South Florida men's soccer team earned its 10th victory of the year and locked up three valuable points in BIG EAST play with a golden goal in the 106th minute by freshman Bernardo Anor to sink the visiting Bearcats of Cincinnati 3-2 Wednesday night at the USF Soccer Stadium.
The Bulls, 10-3-2 (5-3-1), bounced back from Saturday's 3-1 loss at Rutgers to increase their all-important point total in the BIG EAST standings to 16, tied with Louisville for second place and just one point behind St. John's, as of Wednesday night's action.
Anor's sixth goal of the season came as USF worked into Cincinnati's box close to the midway point in the second overtime. The Caracas, Venezuela, native received two quick passes from teammates Jordan Seabrook and Kevon Neaves and drove parallel to the goal from the left side and flicked a shot along the ground that rolled to the right post and kicked in across the line.
“The ball was going so slowly to the corner of the goal,” Anor said. “I kept watching it, thinking ?go in, go in'.”
It was Anor's fourth game-winning goal of the year and helped the Bulls forget seeing a 2-0 lead in the game vanish in the second half.
USF cracked the scoreboard first in the 19th minute off a corner kick from Neaves that sailed to the far post where defender Andre Mittoo was able to put it in through traffic and record his second goal of the year.
Fifteen minutes later, classmate Tony Taylor said hello to his fourth goal of the year, as he fired a shot from the top of Cincinnati's box past goalkeeper Miguel Rosales.
Senior Simon Schoendorf, along with Neaves, assisted on Taylor's goal. The assist adds to Schoendorf's career-high in assists, now with nine, and gives the Karlsruhe, Germany, native a new personal best in points, with 21.
Neaves saw his assist total rise to seven on the year, giving him a new career-best as well, as the Petit Valley, Trinidad, native celebrated his 22nd birthday.
UC, 5-9-1 (3-5-1), was able to even things up by aggressively pressing the ball forward as the second half got underway, however.
Senior forward Kenny Anaba found his team-leading eighth goal of the year in the 68th minute off a pass from teammate Patrick Baxter that Anaba powered with his right foot about eight yards out past USF's keeper Diego Restrepo.
The equalizer came in the 77th minute off a Bearcats' corner kick that Brad Simpson and Lionel Jackson both got a foot on before midfielder Noah Davidson punched it through in heavy traffic right in front of the net.
Despite the two second half goals, Restrepo recorded five saves in the frame and seven in the match, all said.
“Giving up a two-goal lead, a team can get deflated,” said head coach George Kiefer. “We were able to focus on playing smart, getting the goal back and being patient.”
“A freshman finishing a goal like that in overtime, it just shows you what type of player he is.”
Along with Kiefer's fourth 10-win season at the helm of the men's soccer team, the sixth-year coach also grasped his 60th career victory and the 440th all-time for the squad, Wednesday night.
With just two matches left in regular season play, the Bulls will take to the road for the final time as they travel to Syracuse, N.Y. this Saturday to battle a 5-6-4 Orange team. First kick is scheduled for 7 p.m.
USF will welcome St. John's in what is shaping up to be a key divisional match-up, in the regular season finale on Sat., Nov. 3 from the USF Soccer Stadium. Game time has not been determined yet, as it is contingent on the start time for the homecoming game between the USF football team and Cincinnati on the same day at Raymond James Stadium.
Tickets to all USF home matches are $5 for adults, $3 for youth 16-and-under and $2 for groups of 10 or more. Season ticket packages are also available. Call 1-800-GoBulls or visit www.GoUSFBulls.com for details. Spectators will have the opportunity to get player and coach autographs at the conclusion of every home game down on the field.
Fans can also catch all home games on the USF Press Pass. Live video and audio streaming is available for all matches played in the USF Soccer Stadium with Jim Henderson delivering the play-by-play call.
