Women's Soccer August 30, 2015 USF

Bulls Stay Perfect With 3-0 Win Over Bulldogs

Team	1	2	OT	2OT	Final
MSU	0	0	-	-	0
USF	1	2	0	0	3

By TOM ZEBOLD

USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, AUG. 30, 2015 – USF women's soccer finished opening weekend in perfect fashion with a 3-0 victory over Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon at Corbett Stadium.

The Bulls (3-0) started the USF Tournament with a 5-0 win over LIU on Friday and the offense stayed in high gear against the Bulldogs (0-4). Olivia Chance continued to roar out of the gates with two goals and an assist. Leticia Skeete added a goal and an assist for USF, which outshot the Bulldogs, 12-7, overall and 8-1 in the second half.

“I think what gets me most excited is the number of goals we're scoring because that was the initiative,” head coach Denise Schilte-Brown said. “We have to get more opportunities on goal. We have to score more goals and the team is responding well.”

USF put the pressure on the Bulldogs early when Chance got a pass from Skeete and netted her third goal of the season less than 12 minutes into the action. Chance, a senior midfielder from New Zealand, scored one of USF's four second-half goals in the season opener.

Skeete assisted on two of USF's five goals Friday and got into the scoring act early in the second half Sunday. The junior forward from Canada scored the eighth goal of her career in the 56th minute off a pass from Chance.

Chance put the exclamation mark on another strong statement by the Bulls with her second goal of the game in the 64th minute. Chance now has 23 career goals after leading the Bulls with nine in each of the past two seasons.

USF posted nine shutouts on the way to the NCAA tournament last season and the Bulls' defense continues to make it tough on opponents. USF gave up just three shots on goal Friday and got three saves from Kat Elliott against Mississippi State. The sophomore Bay Area keeper from Bradenton, Fla., made all three saves in the first half of her seventh career solo shutout.

“I thought it was really solid goalkeeping by Kat,” Schilte-Brown said. “She's maturing extremely quickly, which is nice.”

USF will look to continue its stellar start away from Corbett Stadium during a four-game road trip.

Next up for the Bulls is a test against South Alabama on Friday, Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. in Mobile, Ala. USF finishes its South Alabama Tournament run with a game against Troy on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 1 p.m. The Bulls finish up the road trip with games at Charlotte (Sept. 11) and Clemson (Sept. 13).

USF prepared well for what's ahead by playing three exhibition games on the road this preseason. Schilte-Brown said the Bulls will be ready for the ones that count.

“It's going to be tough, but that's what preseason was about for us – going on the road,” Schilte-Brown said. “I think the girls will handle it well. We'll take it one game at a time.”

Fans' next opportunity to catch the Bulls at home is Thursday, Sept. 17 against Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. Reserve your seats for the season at USFBullsTix.com.

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

The USF women's soccer team has posted three consecutive 10-plus win seasons and four in the last five years under head coach Denise Schilte-Brown. The Bulls made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2010 and returned in 2014. USF returns 20 players from last year's roster including All-American Athletic Conference first team midfielderOlivia Chance and second team defender Jackie Simpson. They also bring back 12 players that appeared in 15 or more games last season.