CLEMSON, S.C., OCT. 28, 2014 – No. 25 USF struggled to find a groove offensively against a stout Clemson defense and fell 3-0 on the road Tuesday night at Historic Riggs Field.

The Bulls defense did well to hold off a very balanced attack from the Tigers (9-6-1, 4-2-1 ACC) but surrendered a late goal in the first half off a corner kick.

Clemson's Manolo Sanchez scored his third goal of the season to break the scoreless draw in the 35^th minute. Paul Clowes played a short corner out to Saul Chinchilla, who served a ball into the middle of the box where Sanchez was free to head it home and give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

Other than the goal it was a very defensive and chippy first half for both sides as the Bulls and Tigers combined for three yellow cards and only two shots on goal.

The second half brought much of the same in terms of physical play as the teams combined for 20 fouls, four yellow cards and a red card.

The Bulls (9-6-1, 4-2-1 American) committed a costly foul in the 50^th minute that resulted in a penalty kick for the Tigers. Phaneul Kavita converted the penalty kick to pick up his second goal of the year and give Clemson a two-goal lead.

USF had a tough time generating chances against a Clemson team that is giving up less than a goal a game this season. However, Lucas Baldin nearly put the Bulls on the board with a great shot from just outside the box in the 57^th minute, but Tigers' goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell made a great diving save.

Lindo Mfeka also had a good chance to cut into the deficit after a nice combination of passes but sent his shot wide with about 14 minutes to play.

Things got worse for the Bulls in the 78^th minute when Nikola Paunic was whistled for a red card after attempting a slide tackle around midfield.

Playing a man down, USF surrendered another goal with a little over two minutes left in the game as Bobby Belair headed in a perfect cross by Ara Amirkhanian to make it 3-0.

Baldin led the Bulls offensively with two shots and Spasoje Stefanovic made four saves on the night.

USF will look to bounce back and get a win heading into the American Athletic Conference Tournament when they host UConn for Senior Night this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Bulls defeated the Huskies on the road earlier this season on an overtime goal by Edwin Moalosi.

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The men's soccer program has been one of the most successful teams on campus over the years, making it to seven straight NCAA tournaments and eight of the last nine. They won the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship last season and Head Coach George Kiefer has also led the Bulls to two Elite Eight appearances and four conference titles in his 12 seasons as head coach. Purchase season and single-game tickets HERE.

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