Bartman nets team-leading seventh goal

Men's soccer team will host American Athletic Conference Tournament

STORRS, CONN. OCT 31, 2015 – The No. 11 USF men's soccer team battled UConn into overtime in the regular season finale for both teams Saturday in Storrs, Conn., but fell 2-1 after the Huskies scored a penalty kick at 95:05 in front of 3,798 fans.  

It marked USF's fourth overtime game in its last five contests. The previous three all ended in draws.

The Bulls, who ranked No. 11 in this week's NSCAA Coaches Poll and No. 9 in the Top Drawer Soccer national poll, wrapped up the regular season having registered double-digit wins for the second consecutive season and the second time since 2011.

UConn (7-5-5, 3-3-2) extended a five-game unbeaten streak and improved to 5-1-4 at home on the year when Abdou Thiam netted a penalty kick after a foul on USF early in the overtime period.

USF posted nine shots in the game and got one save from goalie Spasoje Stefanovic. UConn logged 13 shots and got four saves from goalie Scott Levene, including three in the second half.

The Huskies jumped on top early when Andrew Geres scored his second goal of the season off an assist from Kwame Awuah at 16:56 and took a 1-0 lead to the half. The Huskies controlled the action in the first half recording nine shots and a corner kick to USF's one shot and no corners.

The Bulls (10-4-3, 5-1-2) flipped the switch in the second half and posted eight shots and four corners to UConn's three shots and one corner. The Bulls tied the game at 1-1 when junior Nazeem Bartman found the back of the net off an assist from fellow junior Lindo Mfeka at 81:14. For Bartman, it marked his team-leading seventh goal of the season and increased his team-leading point total to 19. Mfeka posted his third assist and raised his point total to 9.

The Bulls did not get a shot off in the overtime period before UConn ended the game with a score on their first overtime shot just over five minutes in.

UConn entered the game ranked second in the conference in goals allowed behind only USF. The loss ended a seven-game unbeaten streak for USF, which played No. 13 Old Dominion to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday. The Bulls were looking for their first-ever regular season sweep of UConn after handing the Huskies a 1-0 loss at Corbett Stadium on Sept. 26.

Saturday's game will help determine seeding for the conference tournament that features semifinal and championship rounds at Corbett Stadium. USF entered Saturday second in The American standings and two points behind SMU. The Bulls are guaranteed a conference quarterfinal home game.

USF returns to Corbett Stadium to host an American Athletic Conference quarterfinal game on Saturday, Nov. 7. Get full tournament information at the championship central page HERE.

“To be home for the quarterfinal is great,” Kiefer said. “I'm hopeful we can get a really good student section out to that game and get the soccer community behind it because that will be a fun match for us.”

The men's soccer program has been one of the most successful on campus over the years, advancing to seven NCAA tournaments in the last eight seasons. The Bulls return 13 letterwinners and five starters from 2014 on top of bringing in the third-ranked signing class according to College Soccer News. They won the inaugural American Athletic Conference Championship in 2013 and head coach George Kiefer has also led the Bulls to two Elite Eight appearances and four conference/division titles in his 13 seasons as the head man. Follow the men's soccer team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. Purchase tickets HERE.

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