TAMPA, Fla. (Aug. 29, 2014)—University of South Florida women's soccer team and the Midshipmen of the Naval Academy battled to a 1-1 draw on Friday night at Corbett Stadium.

Despite the Bulls' stonewall defense consisting of Cristina Ferral, Jackie Simpson, Alexis Rossi and Jessica Clark, Navy's Morgan Dankanich put the Midshipmen on the board first in the 61st minute. 

High stakes with less than 10 minutes remaining in regular play, the Bulls' offense bombarded Midshipman keeper Dayton Wetherby with back-to-back corner kicks. 

Senior Demi Stokes evened up the score on a penalty kick with just under four minutes left, forcing free soccer after 90 minutes of back-and-forth play.

“I was most impressed that that we were able to settle back down, regain possession, and find those chances,” said assistant coach Jason Dowiak.

Freshman keeper Katarina Elliott captured numerous crucial saves to keep the Bulls in favorable position.

USF dominated the Navy with six shots in the first 10 minutes of play. In total, the Bulls outshot the Midshipman 25-15.

“That first 20 to 25 minutes we created a lot of attacking opportunities,” said Dowiak. “We just didn't put any away which is a little frustrating.”

 Nine different Bulls recorded shots on the night with junior Olivia Chance recording six shots and Stokes recording three shots and the lone goal of the evening. Senior Daniela Andrade and junior Kate Loye also led the offense with four shots and three shots, respectively.

USF is back in action against FGCU on Sunday, Aug. 31 at Corbett Stadium. The match is slated for a 6:00 p.m. kickoff.

“Putting the ball in the back of the net, that's the one thing we're missing right now,” said Dowiak. “We've got players that can do it and definitely have the players that can do it. It's finding the mentality and building everybody up, building the confidence up as we get in front of the net.”

The USF women's soccer team has posted two consecutive 10-plus win seasons and three in the last four years under head coach Denise Schilte-Brown. The Bulls made their first NCAA tournament appearance and recorded their first tournament victory in 2010. USF returns 23 players from last year's roster including All-American Athletic Conference second team forward Demi Stokes and All-Rookie Team defender Leticia Skeete. They also bring back 11 players that appeared in 15 or more games last season.

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