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By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA, SEPT. 21, 2014 – USF jumped out to an early lead but couldn't hold off No. 8 Washington in a 2-1 loss before a crowd of 970 at Corbett Stadium on Sunday night.
Senior forward Kennedy Selorm Adablah's header off a corner kick spotted the Bulls a 1-0 lead less than seven minutes into the action. Washington answered back in the 29th minute and got the go-ahead goal from Josh Heard in the 57th minute.
“I was pleased with the guys, I thought they played well. I think if you look at it we carried the possession for long periods, but you have to give Washington credit. They're on the road and they're a very disciplined team. They were down one and they were able to figure out a way to get two,” head coach George Kiefer said. “I give them credit, but I don't walk away feeling like they beat us. I feel like if we could do a couple of things better we could play with some of the best teams in the country, as we proved tonight.”
Washington (6-1) headed into the matchup tied for fifth nationally with 2.67 goals per game but it was USF that was the aggressor early on in the first-ever meeting between the programs. The Bulls capitalized on a corner kick by senior Lucas Baldin when Adablah put a header into the back of the net six minutes, 45 seconds into the action.
It marked the fifth goal of Adablah's career and his second of the season after scoring in the Bulls' 2-0 victory over Portland on Sept. 7 at Corbett Stadium.
“I was just doing my part putting the ball in the box and Selorm was terrific and he headed the ball perfectly. He deserves all the credit for the goal,” said Baldin, who leads the team with eight points after posting his second assist of the season.
USF (3-3) stayed aggressive, taking three more shots, before Washington tied things up with a goal by Mason Robertson in the 29th minute. Robertson now has five goals this season after netting the game-winner in a 1-0 victory at FGCU on Thursday night.
“We just needed to manage the first half better against a team like Washington,” Kiefer said. “We gave the ball away a little carelessly down the stretch of the first half and they're good enough to make you chase.”
USF had its chances in the second half, finishing with a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks and a 16-11 shot advantage overall but it was Washington that found a way to pull ahead. Josh Heard scored his fourth goal of the season in the 57th minute with a header off a corner kick from Justin Schmidt.
The Bulls begin American Athletic Conference play with a road test at conference preseason favorite UConn on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. USF won the American tournament title last season by defeating the Huskies in penalty kicks.
“I'm definitely looking forward to the Connecticut game,” Baldin said. “It's going to be a good battle going away for the first conference game. We have to get our heads up and go out there with everything we've got.”
Don't forget to follow the men's soccer team on social media (Twitter / Facebook) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
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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