2021 Women’s Soccer Schedule Announced; Bulls Seek Fifth Straight Conference Title
TAMPA, Fla., July 22, 2021 – University of South Florida women's soccer head coach
Denise Schilte-Brown and her squad seek their fifth straight season with an American Athletic Conference championship as the 2021 schedule is announced. The team will kick off its second campaign of the calendar year on August 19.
"We're excited to be back on the pitch this fall after the condensed offseason," Schilte-Brown said. "Our 2021 schedule is challenging, but I believe this team is ready for the battle and we're eager to chase another conference championship and NCAA tournament run this fall."
The Bulls will play a total of 10 regular season home games and one exhibition at Corbett Stadium, which will return to maximum capacity seating for the 2021 season. All home games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
"We can't wait to have full attendance back at Corbett this fall," Schilte-Brown said. "We missed all of our supporters last spring. Your engagement in the stands motivates us every game and helps give us an extra edge over our opponents. We hope to see all of Bulls Nation back inside Corbett to help keep its status as one of the top stadiums in the country."
USF's 2021 schedule consists of eight nonconference games and eight conference matches. Nonconference opponents include Power 6 conference battles against Florida, LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee and Miami.
South Florida opens the 2021 slate with a seven match homestand, starting with an exhibition matchup against Jacksonville at Corbett on Aug. 7 at 7 p.m. Attendance for the exhibition will be free to the public.
USF opens the regular season almost two weeks later against the Florida Gators on Aug. 19 at 7 p.m., reopening Corbett Stadium for full-capacity regular-season fan attendance at a women's soccer match for the first time since Oct. 20, 2019, a 669-day span.
The Bulls remain at home three days later, when North Florida visits Tampa on August 22 at 6 p.m. Schilte-Brown's squad plays another pair of home matches the following week against LSU (Aug. 26, 4 p.m.) and Kentucky (Aug. 29 at 1).
Wrapping up the home stretch, USF plays Tennessee on Sept. 2 at 7 p.m. and FAU on Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.
Starting the season's road schedule, the Bulls travel to Miami on Sept. 12, but return to Corbett four days later to open the conference slate against ECU on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. South Florida wraps up its nonconference slate the following game, playing at FGCU on Sept. 19.
The Bulls remain on the road for a conference showdown against Tulsa on Sept. 24 and return home for another AAC game against Houston almost a week later (Sept. 30). Up next is the War On I-4, with the team traveling to Orlando to battle against UCF on Oct. 7, then returning to Corbett on Oct. 10 to play SMU.
The team wraps up its regular season schedule with a trio of matches in late October. Starting with a game in Memphis on Oct. 17, the Bulls play their home finale on Oct. 21 against Cincinnati, with the regular-season capped a week later, an Oct. 28 duel against Temple in Philadelphia.
The Bulls bring back 21 student-athletes, including two All-Americans, to its 2021 team that went 10-1-2 and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. All-Americans
Sydny Nasello, the team's returning leading scorer, and
Sydney Martinez, who has started in net for the Bulls for the last three seasons, both return to help lead the Bulls in 2021. Nasello, who currently ranks fourth on USF's all-time assists list with 23 in her career, tallied 17 points last season by way of six goals and five assists. Martinez posted the best goals-against average in program-history, allowing only six goals in nearly 1,200 minutes played for a 0.45 GAA.
The Bulls swept the conference titles last season, capturing both the regular season and tournament championships in the same season for the first time in program history. Schilte-Brown is entering her 24
th season as head coach and 15
th at USF. She holds an overall 248-147-55 record and a 154-78-38 record at USF.
View the entire 2021 schedule
HERE.
About USF Women's Soccer
Be sure to follow USF women's soccer on social media (Twitter / Instagram/Facebook) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
The USF women's soccer team has posted eight consecutive seasons of 10-plus wins and nine in the last 10 years under head coach Denise Schilte-Brown. The Bulls made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2010 and returned in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. South Florida has won four consecutive conference championships, earning the tournament title in 2017, 2019 and 2020 as well as the regular-season title in 2018 and 2020. The program had its first draft pick and second-highest pick in USF Athletics history with Evelyne Viens being taken with the fifth overall pick in the 2020 NWSL Draft by Sky Blue FC, now Gotham FC.
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