USF Athletics

Episode 9: Jeff Attinella

May 20, 2020

TAMPA, MAY 20, 2020 – Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly catches up with former USF men's soccer goalkeeper Jeff Attinella in the ninth episode of Kelly's Conversations.

Kelly's new weekly podcast series features USF standouts, coaches and administrators of the past, reliving their exciting moments in Bulls history and informing listeners on what they're up to now.
 
Episode 1: Chad Barnhardt
Episode 2: Courtney Williams
Episode 3: Chucky Atkins
Episode 4: Austin Reiter
Episode 5: Paul Griffin
Episode 6: Shane McClanahan
Episode 7: Sam Barrington
Episode 8: Kerine Black
 
Attinella's USF Feats

• Star goalkeeper for the Bulls from 2007-10.
• Owns the USF record with 28 career shutouts.
• Tied for the program record with six consecutive shutouts (2010).
• Earned NSCAA first team All-America honors as well as the Big East Goalkeeper of the Year award as a junior in 2009.
• Three-time all-Big East selection – 2008 (honorable mention), 2009 (first team), 2010 (third team).
• Named to NSCAA All-Region First Team (2009) a season after receiving second-team honors.
• Went to the NCAA tournament in every season with the Bulls – 2007 (Sweet 16), 2008 (Elite Eight), 2009 (second round), 2010 (first round).
• He was the hero in a penalty kick thriller against UNC Greensboro that sent the Bulls to the 2008 Elite Eight.
• Was an important part of USF's 2008 Big East tournament champion team.
• Played every minute in his final two seasons and recorded 10 shutouts as a senior.
• Hermann Trophy and Senior CLASS Award candidate.
• Participated in the USF Community Soccer Forum on Thursday, May 14.

 

Pro Notes

• Eight-year Major League Soccer veteran in his fourth season with the Portland Timbers. Played his first four MLS seasons with Real Salt Lake (2013-16).
• Has played in 165 games (46 clean sheets) and logged nearly 15,000 minutes.
• Played in the MLS Cup in 2018.
• Selected by Real Salt Lake in the first round (14^th overall) of the 2011 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft but returned to Tampa to play for the Rowdies. Was back with Real Salt Lake ahead of the 2013 season.
• Helped the Rowdies make the playoffs in both of his seasons with the club (2011-12) and led the team to a league championship in his final year. Posted 11 shutouts during the 2012 season and led the NASL with 118 saves.
• Named to the 2012 NASL Best XI after making three saves in a PK shootout win over Minnesota Stars FC in the title game and finished second in the league's MVP voting that season.
• Selected by Minnesota United FC in the 2016 MLS Expansion Draft and traded soon after to Portland.

 
Other Interesting Attinella Facts

• Born Sept. 29, 1988 in Clearwater, Fla.
• Attinella and his wife, Kendall, have a daughter, Remy Rose, and a son, Connor, who was born on April 2.
• Attinella and his family founded a sports-based publishing company called It Had to Be Told. Attinella is the author of five children's books. Learn more HERE.
• Recently donated 1,000 new copies of his book "The Curse Ends: The Story of the 2016 Chicago Cubs" to Chicago non-profit organization Cradles to Crayons.
• Former Pinellas County Player of the Year, three-time all-county selection, four-time all-conference pick and an all-state honoree in high school.
• Led Countryside High School to a state championship his junior year and posted a 28-4-4 record with 20 shutouts that season.
• As a team captain his senior year, allowed just nine goals while posting 19 shutouts and a 28-1-1 record.
• Played club soccer for the Clearwater Chargers, a nationally ranked team that won the Florida State Cup Championship in 2006.

 
About USF Athletics
USF Athletics sponsors 19 varsity men's and women's teams that compete in 11 different sports, 18 at the NCAA Division I level in the American Athletic Conference. The Bulls' athletic program began in 1965 and is in its 54th season in 2019-20. Nearly 450 student-athletes train and compete in the athletic district located on the east end of the campus in Tampa, Fla. The Bulls have claimed 19 American Athletic Conference team titles since joining the conference in 2013, and own 120 conference titles overall. Eleven USF programs reached national postseason competition in the 2018-19 season and six were ranked in the Top 25 nationally. The Bulls posted a combined annual grade-point average over 3.0 for the fourth straight year in 2018-19 and have posted a program record 10 straight semesters with a combined GPA over 3.0. USF has had 309 student-athletes earn their degree since 2016-17.
 
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