Storrs, Conn. - The University of South Florida men's soccer team's record-setting season ended Sunday afternoon in Storrs, Conn., as the Bulls lost 5-0 to the Connecticut Huskies in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Championships.
"It was just one of those days where everything that could have gone wrong, went wrong," said head coach George Kiefer. "In a couple of days when we look back, we'll be proud of what the guys did this season, especially with getting to the Sweet 16. And we had only six losses on the year, and 50 percent of them are to Connecticut. They are a top team for sure, I give them a lot of credit."
USF (14-6-2) found themselves down early in the game, as Connecticut (20-2-1) scored in the second minute, then again 20 minutes later. In the second half, USF attempted three shots, two on goal, but were outscored 3-0 to end the game and the record-setting season.
The Bulls end the season with the fourth-best all-time record (14 wins), and a team-best two wins in the NCAA Tournament. The Sweet 16 appearance is just the second ever, matching the 1997 squad's 2-1 finish in the tournament.
USF also set the school record for team shutouts in a season (9), which was set by the 1992 team and with Jeff Gopsill in goal. Current USF keeper Diego Restrepo has eight of the 2007 team's nine blank sheets, along with one from Jeffrey Attinella.
Head Coach George Kiefer is now 64-38-13 overall and 3-1-1 in the NCAA Tournament while at USF.
Today three seniors concluded their careers at USF, Tony D'Oyley (Coral Springs, Fla.), Kris Raad (Chuluota, Fla.) and Simon Schoendorf (Karlsruhe, Germany).
The 2007 Bulls were 5-3 against ranked teams this season, with all three losses coming against Connecticut, who was ranked second in the country in the first meeting (Sept. 21) and was the top team in the nation when playing in the BIG EAST Tournament (Nov. 10) and in the NCAA game (Dec. 2).
Prior to Sunday's game the Bulls had outscored its opponents 40-18 this season, and 21-5 in the first period. The Bulls also outshot their opponents 123-81 in the first period and 16-9 in overtime.
USF is now 8-10-2 in the NCAA Tournament, with wins coming in 2007 (2), 2005, 2001, 1997 (2), 1973 and 1969. The Bulls' best finish in the tournament prior to 2007 was the 1997 season when head coach David Christiansen led the team into the Third Round.
USF has now qualified for the NCAA Championships 12 times. The Bulls' first appearance was in 1969 and the most recent was in 2005.
Six Bulls earned weekly honors throughout the season, collecting seven BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll awards, two Soccer America National Team of the Week accolades and a pair of College Soccer News National Team of the Week honors. Diego Restrepo (2), Simon Schoendorf (2), Jordan Seabrook, Kevon Neaves and Bernardo Anor each picked up league honors. Schoendorf won both CSN awards and one Soccer America honor, while Andre Mittoo earned the other.
Five Bulls earned spots on the 2007 BIG EAST All-Conference team. Sophomore Kevon Neaves was the only Bull chosen for the first team. Senior Simon Schoendorf and juniors Yohance Marshall and Jordan Seabrook were selected to the second team and freshman Bernardo Anor was picked for the third team.
