By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA –  A strong second half powered the comeback Bulls to their sixth straight victory Saturday night.

Dom Dwyer and Brenton Griffiths scored in the final period to help the USF men's soccer team extend its lead in the Big East Red Division with a 2-1 victory over Villanova before a crowd of 1,567 at Corbett Soccer Stadium. The Bulls (11-2-2, 6-0-1) are undefeated in their past nine games and haven't lost since Sept. 9.

“That was probably the best 45 minutes we've put together as far as pinning a team in, moving the ball left to right, getting chances, getting behind them and scoring goals,” head coach George Kiefer said. “I thought it was a real complete second half.”

Villanova (4-8-4, 2-4-1) struck first with a goal by Kevin Garcia in the 17th minute and headed into halftime with a 6-5 shot advantage.

“It isn't the first time we've been in a situation like this,” Griffiths said. “We went into the locker room and we had a mindset that we're not leaving the field without three points.”

The Bulls got rolling in the 50th minute when Dom Dwyer headed home his Big East-leading 14th goal of the season off an assist by Ben Sweat.

USF took the lead about 21 minutes later on Griffith's score that was assisted by Ashani Fairclough and Morten Benestad. Fairclough threw his body at the ball, which deflected off his head and into the firing range of Griffiths.

“What can you say when you have guys who give that much to win games,” Kiefer said. “I'm real pleased the two of them can combine to score that goal.”

USF wound up outshooting Villanova, 12-4, in the second half and controlled the pace of the game until the final whistle with a pressure offense.

“There is no panic in them. They just keep playing,” Kiefer said.

USF stays home for its next game against Cincinnati on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. back at Corbett Soccer Stadium, where the team will honor its seniors for Senior Day.