TAMPA, AUG. 19, 2014 – The USF men's soccer team opened its preseason with a 1-1 draw against Saint Leo on Tuesday night in front of 707 fans at Corbett Stadium.
Freshman Rohan Roberts got the start at left back and impressed in his first career game with the Bulls. The Ocoee, Fla., native tallied the only goal of the match for USF in the 39th minute to make it 1-0.
“He's (Roberts) just good at getting forward on either side and his goal came off us winning it high and I think he did a nice job finishing that,” head coach George Kiefer said.
The Bulls defense put forth a strong first half, holding Saint Leo to only one shot on goal and three shots total.
USF generated a number of chances in the first 45 minutes and finally broke through when Roberts slid the ball through the legs of Saint Leo goalkeeper Manuel Schoenhuber from six yards out after a nice give-and-go with fellow freshman Eduardo Maceira.
Saint Leo showed a lot of fight throughout the night and got back into the game early in the second half when Josh Davis scored off a Lions' corner kick. A loose ball in the box found Davis alone at the back post where he was able to tap in the equalizer in the 63rd minute.
Following the goal, the Bulls responded with a flurry of opportunities and nearly retook the lead on a number of occasions.
Senior midfielder Lucas Baldin came within inches of giving USF the lead in the 71st minute after he blasted a shot off the far post from 18-yards out.
Maceira kept the pressure on in the 74th minute with a shot that barely missed wide and Gerardo Hernandez had a great opportunity roll just wide of the far post in the 76th minute.
The Bulls spent the majority of the time of the second half in the offensive third and outshot the Lions 7-1 for the half.
Spasoje Stefanovic got the start in goal for USF and made one save in 63 minutes before yielding way to Mike Mitchell.
One of the biggest pluses was the Bulls got to see a number of different options throughout the match with 21 different players seeing action on the night.
“I'm pleased with the night. We went in with methodical changes, not really changes that the match called for, that we wanted to make," Kiefer said. “I like what I see so far with the amount of options we have.”
USF will complete the preseason portion of its schedule this Saturday night when they host the University of Tampa in the annual Rowdies Cup at 7:30 p.m. Purchase tickets HERE.
Also don't forget to follow USF men's soccer on Twitter and Facebook as well as stayed locked to GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information on the team.
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 return six starters and 17 letterwinners from last season's American Athletic Conference Championship team. Head coach George Kiefer has also led the Bulls to two Elite Eight appearances and two conference titles in his 12 seasons as head coach.
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