Matchup: USF (6-6-0, 3-1-0 AAC) vs. East Carolina (7-5-2, 2-1-1 AAC)
When: Sunday, Oct. 16 at 12 p.m.
Where: Greenville, N.C.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats
 
TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 15, 2022 – The University of South Florida women's soccer team looks to stay atop the American Conference as they head to Greenville, N.C. to face the East Carolina Pirates on Sunday at 12 p.m.
 
Entering This Week's Match

• The Bulls are on an 11-match win streak against ECU. The last loss against the Pirates was on October 29, 2004.
• South Florida is looking to capture their sixth-straight conference title.
• They won the regular season in 2018, 2020, and 2021 while winning the tournament title in 2017, 2019, and 2020.
• USF is on a three-match win streak, shutting out two of their last three opponents.
• With their win streak, they now lead the American conference, one point ahead of Tulsa.

 
Last Match

• The 2-1 win against Memphis marked the Bulls first come-from-behind win of the season. The last time was last season in the 3-2 (OT) win over ECU.
• Serita Thurton scored her first goal of the season in the 44^th minute to tie the match at the half.
• Iris Young joined Thurton for firsts with her first assist of the season.
• Sydney Martinez surpassed Katarina Elliot (2014-17) in goalie minutes played to take the top spot in program history. She has played 6,734 minutes between the pipes.

 
And the Award Goes To…
South Florida has earned American Athletic Conference weekly honors eight times this season. Sophomore Chiara Hahn was named the Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 3 for her performance in the Bulls win over SMU. Six Bulls have earned spots on the Honor Roll with Sydney Martinez leading with four. Maria Bulis, Rosalia Muino Gonzalez, Georgia Brown, Daniella Chung, and Serita Thurton have been named once. 
 
Thunderstruck
Situated in the lightning capital of the United States, Florida averaged 223 strikes per square mile in 2021, with Tampa ranking as the No. 1 city with more than 500,000 people by WeatherBug in 2015. The weather has targeted the Bulls this season, with each of its first three games being delayed due to weather so far this season and one game being called early due to weather. In total, while the Bulls have spent 18 hours in game on the pitch, they have also spent seven hours and 18 minutes in weather delays.
 
She's A Keeper
Martinez is making her case as one of the best keepers to come through the women's soccer program at South Florida. With the Bulls 1-0 win over Tulsa on Sept. 22, she became the new career shutout leader. Then on October 6, after playing the full 90 minutes, she became the all-time leader in goalie minutes played. The fifth-year senior is currently ranked in all of the career goalkeeper lists that USF tracks. Her placements are below:

• Goalie Minutes Played: 1st; 6,734
• Goals Against Average: 1st; 0.842.
• Saves: 4th; 245 (3rd: 275, 1st: 318)
• Saves Per Game: 10th; 3.27 (9th: 3.62; 1st: 5.07)
• Save Percentage: 5th; .795 (4th: .799; 1st: .825)
• Shutouts: 1st; 26

She also holds the single-season goals-against average record at USF with a 0.453 tally in 2020.
 
National Team Duty
South Florida boasts a tremendous amount of experience with their respective national teams. Vivianne Bessette and Serita Thurton just completed competition for the Canadian National Team at the U-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica. Bessette has also spent time in the Bulgarian National Team system, while Emilie Lajmiri (Denmark) and Chiara Hahn (Germany) have also represented their country in various levels of competition. USF also has a strong alumni base competing on the international level. In the most recent Olympic Games, Evelyne Viens (Canada) won a gold medal, while Christiane Endler (Chile), Olivia Chance (New Zealand) and Demi Stokes (Great Britain) all competed in the Games.
 
We're Twinning 'Em
South Florida is one of 20 Division I soccer programs with at least one set of twins on the roster. Iris and Sloane Young joined the team in 2021 and are sophomores for the 2022 season. The Bulls are one of three sets of twins in the American Athletic Conference, joining the Parker sisters at Temple and the Fernandez sisters at Tulsa. Overall, there are 23 sets of twins between the 20 schools.
 
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 ten consecutive seasons of 10-plus wins under head coach Denise Schilte-Brown. The Bulls made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2010 and returned in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. South Florida has five consecutive seasons with a conference championship, earning the tournament title in 2017, 2019 and 2020 as well as the regular-season title in 2018, 2020 and 2021. 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.