Bulls Set for Championship Rematch
DATE/TIME: Saturday, Oct. 7 / 8:00 p.m. ET
OPPONENT: Tulsa (3-4-1, 1-1 The American)
LOCATION: Hurricane Stadium | Tulsa, Okla.
WATCH: ($)
Hurricane Vision
FOLLOW: Live Stats |
Twitter |
Facebook |
Instagram
TAMPA, OCT. 6, 2017 – The defending American Athletic Conference regular season champion, USF men's soccer, travels to Tulsa Saturday for a rematch of The American tournament championship a year ago. The Bulls will battle the Golden Hurricane at 7 p.m. at Hurricane Stadium.
USF (5-3-1, 2-0 The American) has not lost a match since Sept. 8 but still looks for its first road win of the season. In the first NCAA RPI rankings released Monday, USF took home the highest ranking in The American at No. 29. The Bulls positioned themselves with one of the toughest schedules in the league, facing three top-20 teams, all on the road. All three of USF's losses came at the hands to teams ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
The Bulls have steadily climbed in the NCAA statistics rankings and currently rank 10th in assists per game (2.33), 12
th in points per game (2.22) and 22
nd in total goals this season (20). USF is coming off a 5-2 conference victory over Cincinnati a week ago, the second time this season the Bulls scores five goals in a single game.
Freshman
Adrian Billhardt (Berlin, Germany) leads USF with 15 points (5 goals, 5 assists) this season. Billhardt and senior
Gonzalo Rodriguez (Coustituciou, Chile) lead the league with 0.63 assists per game which ranks 17
th nationally. Junior
Christian Knight (Odessa, Fla.) is perfect in goal for the Bulls with a 4-0-1 record and 19 saves in five matches.
The Opponent
Tulsa (3-4-1, 1-1-0 The American) lost to UConn, 1-0, in its last outing. The Golden Hurricane are led by Rollie Rocha with a team high three goals. Tulsa is 2-0-1 against ranked opponents this season, including a 1-0 overtime win over then No. 19 SMU.
The Bulls own a 4-1-3 overall series advantage against Tulsa. USF took the regular season meeting, 2-0, last season in Tampa while the pair played to a 1-1 draw in the conference tournament championship. The Golden Hurricane claimed the tournament title 4-2 in penalty kicks.
Notables
- The Bulls outscored their opponents 15-4 in their last five matches and are averaging 2.22 goals per game.
- Billhardt's 1.88 points per game ranks 11th in NCAA Division I. The freshman has five goals this season and has two, two-goal games.
- The Bulls have turned in two shutouts this season and both have been at home. (Aug. 28, 3-0 vs. Lipscomb and Sept. 17, 1-0 vs. LMU)
On Dec. 18 Bob Butehorn was appointed the head coach the USF men's soccer program. A member of the University of Tampa's 1981 national championship team and a three-time conference coach of the year, Butehorn previously led Florida Gulf Coast University's men's soccer program to six conference regular season championships, four NCAA Tournament appearances and Top 25 rankings in five seasons since 2010.
The Bulls concluded the season as The American regular season champions and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulls finished the season with a 10-6-4 overall record and a 6-1-0 mark in the American Athletic Conference.
Follow the men's soccer team on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
–
#GoBulls –
