Box Score STORRS, Conn. (Nov. 2, 2016)— Survive and Advance.
Thanks to Leticia Skeete's game-winning penalty kick and Haley Johnson's two saves in goal, the USF women's soccer team defeated Cincinnati, 4-3, in penalty kicks to advance to the semifinals of the 2016 American Athletic Conference Championship.
After 110 minutes of scoreless play, the Bulls (12-3-3) went to penalty kicks against Cincinnati (11-5-4) for the second time in as many conference tournaments. In the 2015 championship game, the Bulls were on the wrong end of the kicks, falling short and earning runner-up status for the second straight year.
This time, the Bulls would not be denied, winning on Leticia's deflected shot off the post that rolled behind the Cincinnati keeper.
Grace Adams, Trudi Carter and Andrea Hauksdottir started off hot, notching three straight penalty kicks for USF to give the Bulls a 3-1 lead. Cincinnati would respond, netting two, to send it to sudden-death penalty kicks.
After Johnson recorded a save on the sixth kick, Skeete would step up to the plate, scoring the game winner. Cincinnati's keeper deflected the shot, but the deflection went off the post and into the goal to give USF the win.
Key Stat:
- USF made a goalie switch in penalty kicks, putting Johnson in goal after Kat Elliott played the full 110 minutes.
Notables:
- This is the first penalty kick victory for USF in the conference tournament after falling in each of the last three years.
- Kat Elliott had six saves to help USF get to penalty kicks.
- Evelyne Viens led all players with five shots, including two on goal.
- Jordyn Listro started her 81st career game as a Bull and is the USF record holder for career games played.
Up Next:
USF will face host and No. 1 seed UConn Friday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. in the semifinals.
Be sure to follow USF women's soccer on social media (Twitter / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. The USF women's soccer team has posted four consecutive seasons of 10-plus wins and five in the last six years under head coach Denise Schilte-Brown. The Bulls made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2010 and returned in 2014 & 2015. USF returns 17 players from last year's roster, including All-American Athletic Conference second-team goalkeeper Kat Elliott and seniors Lotta Fennefoss, Jordyn Listro and Leticia Skeete. The Bulls also return 10 players who appeared in at least 15 or more games last season.
– #GoBulls –
