TAMPA (Sept. 12, 2014) – A powerful offense was unable to capitalize as the USF women's soccer team fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks, 3-0, on Friday night at Corbett Stadium.  

“They scored against us in the run of play,” head coach Denise Schilte-Brown said. “We created more opportunities but the other team capitalized. I'm proud of my team and think they're a great possession team. I think we're threatening but at the end of the day, that ball has to go in the back of the net.”

The Bulls (3-3-1) began the offensive attack first with senior Demi Stokes firing shots from the very beginning. Just one minute into the game, Stokes notched the first shot-on-goal for the Bulls but USC goalkeeper Sabrina D'Angelo made the save.

Stokes once again fired a bullet at the USC net, but D'Angelo was there to make the second of seven saves on the night. USF continued to press the USC defense adding two more shots-on-goal by senior Sarah Miller and sophomore Leticia Skeete before the end of the first period.

South Carolina struck first at the 31-minute mark with a goal by Coryn Bajema on an assist by Bay Daniel after a corner kick.

Trailing 1-0 heading into the second half, the Bulls offense once again started off strong with two shots by junior Olivia Chance. Before USF could capitalize and find the equalizer, the Gamecocks struck again, this time by Chelsea Drennan.

To counteract the Gamecocks, the Bulls fired on all cylinders with juniors Jackie Simpson and Cristina Ferral, Skeete, and Chance all recording shots in a 15 minute span.

The Bulls counterattack would fall short though as Sophie Groff recorded a third goal for South Carolina with seven minutes left in play.

USC's D'Angelo entered the game with 10 saves on the year but the Bulls pressing offense nearly doubled that total by forcing D'Angelo to make seven saves on the night.

Despite the loss, freshman goalkeeper Thordis Aikman recorded four saves, and the Bulls outshot the Gamecocks 12-11.

USF will look to rebound from the loss as they face the Texas Longhorns on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. at Corbett Stadium. Texas will be entering the match off a 2-0 loss to UCF in the opening game of the USF Soccer Classic.

Follow @USFSoccer on Twitter for more information about the women's soccer program.

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.

- #GoBulls -