| Team |
1 |
2 |
OT |
2OT |
Final |
| UConn |
0 |
0 |
- |
- |
0 |
| USF |
0 |
1 |
- |
- |
1 |
TAMPA, SEPT. 26, 2015 – In front of a crowd of 1,325, the USF men's soccer team opened conference play with a 1-0 win over the UConn Huskies Saturday night at Corbett Stadium.
“I thought they did a very good job tonight,” head coach George Kiefer said. “UConn is always a good opponent and you have to be really sound. You can't give away stuff to them because if you give it, they'll take it. I was really pleased with the group tonight.”
The Bulls improved to 6-2-0 on the season and posted their third shutout at home with the win. The Bulls are now 6-0 at Corbett Stadium and Kiefer is now 94-23-18 at home.
The Bulls broke through in the 60th minute on Bartman's third goal of the season. Marcus Epps crossed the ball to Melvin Becket, who found Bartman on the far side of the box. Bartman took one look at the goal and punched the ball in to the upper right corner to give USF the lead.
“It happened so quickly,” Bartman said. “Marcus made a run and clipped the ball into Melvin. Melvin and I have been practicing on connecting and playing balls off each other and he saw me and slipped me the ball and I scored. It's as simple as that.”
Bartman now leads the team with three goals and has scored in three of his last four games.
“We've been working and focusing all week to get this win,” Bartman said. “We came out here and did the job and got the result.”
In the 75th minute, Eduardo Maceira almost made it a 2-0 game but his shot went just wide of the net.
The first half was a defensive battle as the teams combined for just seven shots. The Huskies went in to the locker room with the 4-3 shot advantage, but key saves by USF keeper Spasoje Stefanovic kept the game scoreless.
The Bulls almost broke the scoreless draw at the 50-minute mark. On a corner by Lindo Mfeka, Brendan Hines-Ike headed the ball toward the net, but the Huskies keeper made a diving save to knock the ball out of bounds.
USF outshot UConn 14-10 for the game, with seven shots on goal. Stefanovic recorded three saves, while the Bulls forced UConn keeper Scott Levene to make six.
The Bulls embark on a three-game road swing, starting with Denver on Tuesday, Sept. 29. USF will return to conference action on Saturday, Oct. 3 at Temple, before traveling to Tulsa on Wednesday, Oct. 7.
50th Anniversary Celebration
The first USF Athletics event back in 1965 was men's soccer and the team's first coach was in attendance Saturday. Dan Holcomb, a member of the 2010 USF Hall of Fame class, was on the field for the honorary first kick.
“He's been really good to me my entire time here at USF,” Kiefer said. “He was an advisor when I first got here guiding me. I'm really thankful he's still a part of what we're doing.”
Holcomb posted a 216-86-22 overall record at USF with 22 consecutive winning seasons. The Bulls made six NCAA tournament appearances during Holcomb's tenure.
“If you look at the NCAA banners in the stadium, he had his hands in bunch of those and built this place,” Kiefer said. “For every guy in our locker room, they need to know who Dan is and appreciate him.”
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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