BOX SCORE | HIGHLIGHT OF GAME-WINNING GOAL | PHOTO GALLERY
TAMPA ? Crown them champs!
The University of South Florida men's soccer team defeated No. 3/5 St. John's, 1-0, in overtime on Sunday afternoon to claim the BIG EAST Championship thanks to a golden goal by freshman Sebastien Thuriere with 4:06 left on the clock in the first overtime.
It is the first BIG EAST Championship in program history and the third for USF Athletics since joining the conference.
“Today the focus was to go out and do the little things to beat St. John's,” said USF head coach George Kiefer. “They are a good team that pressures us, but we didn't change what we did all year and that was to just focus on the now and not the prize. We made a commitment to look each other in the eye at the end of it and we would be Big East champs, and they honored that commitment.”
It was a familiar script to Friday night's semifinal win, as an unlikely scorer secured the win.
Friday night it was Francisco Aristeguieta scoring his first goals (two) of the season. Sunday afternoon it was the true freshman from St. Petersburg notching his second goal of the season and first against a BIG EAST team. The Seminole High School product was named Most Outstanding Offensive Performer.
“I really don't even know how I feel right now, it's still a shock,” said Thuriere. “I just know it's a great feeling.”
The goal was setup by senior Jordan Seabrook, who maneuvered in the near left side of the box to put a left-footed shot on goal. The shot was deflected off the goalie to the far side of the box where Thuriere found a wide-open opportunity to bang home the right-footed shot for the score and Championship (Watch the Highlights).
USF controlled the action in the first half. Junior Zak Boggs took a pair of shots in the 38th minute but was unable to capitalize, including one of the shots that was cleared off the goal line by the St. John's defender. Boggs would finish with four shots in the match and the Bulls would end the opening half with four shots on goal, as opposed to one by St. John's.
In the second half, both offenses pressed and forced the defenses to come up with game-winning stops.
With a little over four minutes remaining, sophomore goalkeeper Jeff Attinella came out to cut off St. John's Sverre Wegge Gundhus. Wegge Gundhus was unable to capitalize on his team's best opportunity of the day as his shot sailed well over the goal.
USF's Fernando Gonzalez had a chance to setup a score in the final 15 seconds of regulation. With a pair of defenders in front of him in the box, Gonzalez dropped a pass to Boggs and Thuriere that could have produced an easy goal, but the timing was just late and the team's moved into overtime.
Attinella earned his 10th shutout with two saves and improved his goals against average to 0.40. The 10 shutouts extends his USF single season record.
St. John's made two team saves and Neal Kitson, who was the NCAA leader in goals against average coming into the tournament, also recorded two saves.
USF not only won the BIG EAST title, but the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. USF is 14-4-2 on the season, but more importantly 9-0-1 at home. USF has a ton of momentum going into the tournament and a very good chance to host a game in the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament at USF Soccer Stadium. The first 16 seeds will earn a first round bye in the tournament. The first round games will take place on Friday, Nov. 21 and Saturday, Nov. 22, and the second rounds will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 25.
It was just the second loss of the season for St. John's, who will be a high NCAA Tournament seed with a 16-2-3 overall record. The win for USF also avenged an earlier 1-0 loss to the Red Storm in Queens, N.Y. on Oct. 18.
The 2008 BIG EAST Men's Soccer Championship Team includes: Sebastian Thuriere, USF, MF; Francisco Aristeguieta, USF, MF; Yohance Marshall, USF, D; Zak Boggs, USF, F; Jeff Attinella, USF, GK; Peter Sterbenz DePaul, MF; Bright Dike, Notre Dame, F; Jeb Brovsky, Notre Dame, MF; Ryan Soroka, St. John's, F; Nelson Becerra, St. John's, MF; Ben Clack, St. John's, D.
Marshall was the Most Outstanding Defensive Performer.
The NCAA Tournament field of 48 will be announced on Monday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern. It will air live on ESPN News.
Sebastien Thuriere
About the goal ...
“We had our chances the whole game. We should have scored a few, and they should have scored a few, but it came down to the end. It was a team effort all of the way.”
What did coach say before overtime ...
“Before the overtime, Coach told us he had a dream we would win it in overtime, and it happened.”
Yohance Marshall
What does it mean to go out your senior year like this ...
“It's an accomplishment. My first year I got a taste of what it would be like to be in a final, and I always wanted to be in a final again. My sophomore and junior year we didn't make it, but my senior year, it's my last year to go out with a bang. It's kind of overwhelming. I can't explain my emotions right now.”
The rise of the program ...
“It's all hard work and dedication, starting with Coach, then the players must believe and follow through with it. It's an entire team effort.”
Jordan Seabrook
About the last goal...
“The final goal was a combination of a lot of good work. St. John's is a great team, one of, if not the best team we have played all season. We knew they were going to fight until the end, and we had to match that and we did. It was just the perfect goal for this game, it came off of hard work. We won the ball with a nice hard tackle in the midfield. We ran but we didn't give up when it looked like the play was dead, and our persistence paid off in the end.”
On winning the Championship in Tampa ...
“It is absolutely incredible, it's the best feeling. I knew it would be a great, but when it actually happened, it is even better than I possibly imagined. To have our fans come out on a Sunday afternoon, when they could be doing anything, and to have that many people come out, it's a huge pleasure to play for fans that great.”
On ending his career with this win ...
“This is one of those things that you always think about. From the day I stepped on this campus, sitting down in Coach Kiefer's office on my official visit, we said we want to win championships here. It's great to take the program from where it was, and bring it to where we are today. Then to top if off by winning the Big East Championship, it is amazing.”
USF head coach George Kiefer
On winning at home ...
“It's great. This process started three years ago, having an A.D. that would want to host the Big East Soccer Championship. Planning it three years out, then having a team good enough to get to it, then to knock off Notre Dame and St. John's is a rewarding weekend for us.”
About the last goal ...
“I thought it was great goal. It was a loose ball. I thought Jordan did a good job - that's the defensive player of the year in the Big East that he spun - then he slipped the ball across. Then Sebastien buried it.”
What do you say to your team after an emotional win on Friday ...
“A lot of times you make it to a final and teams make the mistake of going out to try to win something. Today the focus was to go out and do the little things to beat St. John's. They are a good team that pressures us, but we didn't change what we did all year and that was to just focus on the now and not the prize. We made a commitment to look each other in the eye at the end of it and we would be Big East champs, and they honored that commitment.”
About the weekend ...
“If you look at this weekend, two of our four losses we have erased now.”
Playing at home ...
“The USF Soccer Stadium is a great place to play, especially for the style that we play. We move the ball well, so on this surface it makes us better. Two of goals this year were to win this final and to go undefeated at home, so they have accomplished that.”
