Golden Goal Lifts Bulls Past UCF
TAMPA, FLA., SEPT. 23, 2017 – The University of South Florida men's soccer team claimed the first six points of the 2017-18 War on I-4 rivalry series in dramatic fashion Saturday night. The Bulls defeated UCF, 3-2, in double-overtime at Corbett Stadium.
Newcomer
Alex Zis (Oakville, Ontario, Canada) scored the golden goal in the 107
th minute on a long shot from outside the box.
USF (4-3, 1-0 The American) trailed early after the Knights scored in the ninth minute.
Avionne Flanagan (Baltimore, Md.) tied things up before halftime on his first career goal in the 32
nd minute.
Adrian Billhardt (Berlin, Germany) took the corner and Flanagan scored on diving header.
In the 72
nd minute, UCF regained the lead, but
Ricardo Gomez (Gainesville, Ga.) answered in the 81
st minute. From 25 yards out, Gomez found the back of the net.
Stephen Rudderham (Tampa, Fla.) was credited with the assist.
Zis preserved a perfect record at Corbett Stadium in the second overtime period.
Christian Knight (Odessa, Fla.) improved to 3-0 on the season. The junior made four saves in 106 minutes.
QUOTABLES:
Head coach Bob Butehorn on the I-4 rivalry:
"I'm really proud of the guys and their resillancy today and the way they kept pushing through. They kept responding everytime we went down one. Scott does a great job with that group at UCF and they gave us a great game. If this is what the future holds for the I-4 rivalry, this is going to be a lot of fun."
KEY STAT:
1284: USF hit its highest attendance figure of the season with 1,284 fans. The Bulls distributed 400 scarves in five minutes.
NOTABLES:
- The Bulls remain unblemished in American Athletic Conference openers. Since the league's inaugural season, USF is 4-0-1 in conference openers.
- USF has reached 13+ shots in all but two matches this season. In Saturday's match, USF took 18 shots.
- Since 2015, the Bulls are 19-3-6 at home.
- The Bulls are 23-5-3 against UCF and 14-3-0 at Corbett Stadium.
UP NEXT:
The Bulls hit the road Tuesday for a match at Louisville. USF returns home Sept. 30 for a conference match against Cincinnati.
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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