TAMPA, Fla. ? In front of a regular season record crowd at the USF Soccer Stadium, the No. 2 Connecticut Huskies scored two late goals to come from behind and escape the No. 10 University of South Florida men's soccer team 2-1.
Following a two hour and ten minute weather delay, the match got underway with 2,431 raucous fans eager to see the Bulls (5-1-0, 0-1-0) in their conference opener and biggest match-up of the season.
“The crowd tonight was great,” said head coach George Kiefer. “I'm very frustrated we didn't get a win for them. They waited two hours through the rain, not many fans would do that.”
The packed house, which surpassed the previous record of 2,106, set October 6, 2006 against Stetson, was treated to the Bulls attacking early and often.
USF had its first real scoring opportunity in the 14th minute when junior midfielder Jordan Seabrook came flying in UConn's box on a one-on-one with Huskies freshman goalie Josh Ford. Ford charged out to meet Seabrook and made an outstanding sliding save on the ground just as the Indianapolis, Ind., native connected on what otherwise was a surefire goal.
The Bulls continued to press the Huskies (7-0-0, 2-0-0) in the first half, tallying eight shots to UConn's three and forcing Ford to make seven saves, two short of his season high for an entire game against Hofstra.
Shortly after the second half began, Seabrook received another chance for his third goal of the year and did not falter.
In the 51st minute, a cross from the left side by freshman Bernardo Anor sailed to the front of the net where Ford deflected it away. Seabrook quickly settled the ball and hit the back of the net on a swift put-back that gave the Bulls a 1-0 lead on the No. 2 team in the country.
“Just getting the team that first goal after we had been pressing for a long time, it felt like we deserved it and we needed it,” said Seabrook. “That's what I'm on the field to do and I was glad to put one in and get the lead.”
For Anor, the assist was the first of his career as the newcomer has been on fire, registering seven points in the last two games, following his hat trick against American.
After allowing only its third goal of the year, UConn seemed to gain a second wind and began on offensive effort that was able to break down USF's defense in the 65th minute.
Midfielder Mike Pezza found dangerous forward O'Brian White on a lob that the BIG EAST's leading scorer was able to head down and under the reach of Bulls keeper Diego Restrepo. The equalizer was the seventh goal of the year for White in seven games played.
Just five minutes later, the Huskies notched the game-winner as forward Ryan Cordeiro found Chunkwudi Chijindu on a cross from the left side that Chijindu got past Restrepo for his fourth goal of the year.
With time working against the Bulls, the team challenged UConn several more times up front, including a loose ball scuffle in front of Connecticut's goal that Ford was able to recover from. USF was ultimately not able to push the contest into overtime.
“The frustrating thing is I think we should have closed the game out and we let it get away,” said Kiefer. “But I think if we can approach every game like we approached this game, we'll be on the end of a lot of positive results.”
Despite allowing the two goals, the Bulls' backline played an outstanding game, holding UConn's vaunted offense to only eight shots all night. The Bulls nearly doubled that total, launching 14 towards the net, eight of which were on target.
The men's soccer team will look to regroup Sunday, when it welcomes Providence for the second game of 2007 BIG EAST play. Match time is set for 1 p.m.
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.
