USF Prepared for Top-25 Road Swing
DATE/TIME: Friday, Sept. 1 / 5 p.m. & Sunday, Sept. 3 / 8 p.m.
OPPONENT: #17 Butler (1-1) | #7 Indiana (2-0)
LOCATION: Bill Armstrong Stadium | Bloomginton, Ind.
WATCH: N/A | BTN Plus
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TAMPA, Aug. 31, 2017 – University of South Florida men's soccer opens the month of September on the road at the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic and awaiting the Bulls are two top-25 teams. USF starts the tournament with No. 17 Butler on Friday, then has a quick turnaround to play No.7 Indiana on Sunday.
This weekend is the Bulls' first road swing of the season and the first top-25 matchups of the year. USF (1-0) looks to keep the ball rolling after a 3-0 victory against Lipscomb Monday. Against the Bisons,
Bob Butehorn won his first game as head coach of the Bulls.
In the 3-0 shutout, freshman goalkeeper
Harrison Devenish-Meares (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) recorded his first start the Bulls. Devenish-Meares made three saves in 90 minutes. Florida natives,
Bradley Fairas (Indiantown, Fla.) and
Trey Jackson (Ocala, Fla.), scored their first goals as Bulls.
Alex Zis (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) and
Stephen Rudderham (Tampa, Fla.) head into this weekend with one assist each.
The Opponents
No. 17 Butler
Butler carries a 1-1 mark into Friday's matchup. The Bulldogs opened the season with a 1-0 victory over UIC but dropped a 1-0 decision to No. 9 Louisville. The Bulldogs are ranked in the top 25 of three major polls this week: No. 17 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, No. 19 in the College Soccer News rankings, and No. 21 with Top Drawer Soccer.
No. 7 Indiana
Indiana enters the weekend with a 2-0 record and four national polls have the Hoosiers ranked in the top 10. Indiana is No. 4 in the by Soccer America, No. 5 in the Top Drawer poll, No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 8 by College Soccer News. The Hoosiers picked up a pair of wins opening weekend, with a 2-0 win over Cal Poly and a 1-0 win over San Diego.
Notables
- The Bulls are slated to face six preseason top-25 teams.
- USF returns three starters from last season's NCAA tournament team.
- The Bulls went 3-0 during the preseason and outscored opponents, 12-2.
- The Bulls finished 2016 with a 10-6-4 record and a 6-1-0 mark in The American. USF claimed the regular season title, its second league title in four years.
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.
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