USF Opens AAC Tournament Play With UConn at Home on Saturday

USF Opens AAC Tournament Play With UConn at Home on Saturday

TAMPA (Nov. 8, 2019) – The University of South Florida men's soccer team returns to the Corbett Stadium pitch on Saturday at 7 p.m., when it faces UConn in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. The winner of the match between the third-seeded Bulls and the Sixth-seeded Huskies will face No. 2-seeded SMU on Nov. 13 at 4:30 p.m. at the UCF Track and Soccer Stadium in Orlando.
 
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No. 3 SEED USF BULLS | 10-5-1*
Last Game: Nov. 5 at Memphis, W, 3-1
Next Game: Nov. 13, vs. No. 2 seed SMU, 4:30 p.m. (if necessary)
Head Coach: Bob Butehorn
Career Record: 152-118-35 (17th season)
At USF: 22-20-7 (Third season)
* USF record includes a 2-1 win over Tulsa that counts towards AAC standings but is not recognized by the NCAA
 
NO. 6 SEED UCONN | 5-11-1
Last Game: Nov. 5 vs. Tulsa, W, 6-3
Next Game: Nov. 13, vs. No. 2 Seed SMU, 4:30 p.m. (if necessary)
Head Coach: Ray Reid
Career Record: 450-141-78 (31st season)
At UConn: 304-124-7 (23rd season)
 
SCOUTING UCONN
- UConn comes into its first-round match with USF with a 5-11-1 record, while finishing the 2019 conference schedule with a 2-5 mark … The Huskies have dropped four of their last five matches and six of their last eight, but defeated Tulsa, 6-3, in the regular season finale.
 
- Jordan Hall leads the Huskies in scoring with 19 points (9g, 1a) while Dayonn Harris is second with 13 points (2g, 9a), however Hall has been sidelined with a season-ending injury since early October..
 
- Gianluca Catalano has been the mainstay in goal for UConn, logging nearly 1,200 minutes and recording 36 saves … He has a 1.58 goals against average and has two shutouts to his credit this season.
 
THE SERIES VS. THE HUSKIES
- USF comes into its matchup vs. UConn trailing in the all-time series, 4-12-4 ... The Bulls are 2-1-1 in the last four matches against the Huskies.
 
- UConn holds a 30-12 scoring advantage against USF in the all-time series.
 
- The Bulls defeated the Huskies on Sept. 27 in Tampa, 2-1.
 
LAST TIME OUT
- Adrian Billhardt scored two goals, and Trey Jackson tallied one goal, as USF handed Memphis a 3-1 loss in the regular season finale for both schools on Nov. 5 in Memphis … The win catapulted the Bulls into the third seed and a position to host a first-round match in the American Athletic Conference Tournament … Billhardt came up big for the Bulls on Tuesday with his third career two-goal match, and his first since 2017.
 
- Despite the positive outcome for the Bulls, the Tigers outshot USF, 12-9, including a slight 6-5 margin in shots on goal.

- USF goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares recorded five saves on the night in the win.    
 
BULLS CLOSE PRESEASON WITH 3-0 EXHIBITION RECORD
- USF closed out its 2019 preseason schedule with a 3-0 record, capped off by a 1-0 win over the University of Tampa in the 41st annual Rowdies Cup at Corbett Stadium on Aug. 24 ... Freshman forward Victor Claudel netted the game-winner on a penalty kick in the 85'.
 
- The Bulls also defeated Eastern Florida State College (2-0) on Aug. 17 and Eckerd College (1-0) on Aug. 21 in their first two exhibition matches.
 
BILLHARDT & FLANAGAN EARN PRESEASON AAC HONORS
- USF men's soccer standouts Avionne Flanagan and Adrian Billhardt were named to the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Preseason All-Conference Team.
 
- Flanagan finished 2018 with Second Team All-AAC honors ... He played in all 17 matches for the Bulls and started in 16 ... He scored two goals on the year off 15 shots ... His goal against Florida Atlantic marked his first game-winner and was a crucial turning point for USF, which posted a 3-1-2 record in its next six matches.
 
- Billhardt earned preseason all-conference honors after recording four points on four assists in 2018 ... A great technical player, he is creative and extremely dangerous one-on-one with a big left foot ... Billhardt was also recognized during his freshman season, in 2017, when he was named First Team All-AAC and to the All-Rookie Team.
 
BULLS TABBED FOURTH IN AAC PRESEASON POLL
- USF was voted by the league's head coaches to finish fourth in this year's preseason American Athletic Conference Coaches poll ... The Bulls trail only UCF, SMU and UConn ... Temple, Memphis, Tulsa and Cincinnati round out the bottom four.

UP NEXT
- The winner of the USF-UConn match will face second-seeded SMU, on Nov. 13 at 4:30 at the UCF Track and Soccer Stadium in The American Tournament semifinals.
 
– #GoBulls –
 
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