Matchup: No. 2 USF (8-8-0, 5-3-0 AAC) vs. No. 6 SMU (8-2-4. 6-0-1 AAC)
When: Thursday, Nov. 3 at 4 p.m.
Where: UCF Soccer and Track Complex
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats
 
TAMPA, Fla., Oct. 26, 2022 – For the second consecutive year, the University of South Florida Women's Soccer team with open the American Athletic Conference Tournament with a match against the SMU Mustangs on Thursday, Nov. 3 at the UCF Soccer and Track Complex. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
 
Entering This Week's Match

• The Bulls are looking for their fourth AAC Tournament Title in the last six years. They lifted the tournament trophy in 2017, 2019, and 2020.
• USF leads the all-time record against SMU, 8-2-1. The Bulls upset the Mustangs in the regular season when SMU was ranked No. 21 in the nation.
• Chiara Hahn (Lauterbach, Germany) scored the lone goal in the 19^th minute. The Bulls defense held SMU to 10 shots, two were on goal.
• South Florida is one of 11 NCAA DI schools that have not ended in a tie this season. Of those 11, seven have winning records, with the Bulls being one.
• The other six are: UCLA (17-1-0), North Carolina (15-3-0), St. Louis (18-1-0), Fairfield (14-3-0), Boston University (11-8-0), and The Citadel (10-9-0).

 
Last Match

• South Florida dropped their last regular season match to UCF, 0-2.
• Gentiana Fetaj (Minden, Germany), Serita Thurton (Ajax, Ontario, Canada), and Chiara Hahn led the team with three shots. Lucy Roberts followed with two, both were on goal.
• Sydney Martinez (Rincon, Ga.) matched her season high of six saves. It's the fourth time she has done so.

 
 
Déjà Vu?
Three of the four remaining teams from last season's conference tournament have returned this season. South Florida returns as the No. 2 seed, Memphis as the No. 4 seed, and SMU as the No. 6 seed. South Florida and SMU will face off in the semifinals for the second consecutive season.
 
And the Award Goes To…
The American Conference just announced the 2022 All-Conference Teams. Chiara Hahn and Vivianne Bessette (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) earned spots on the All-Conference First Team, while Daniella Chung (Boca Raton) and Signe Markvardsen (Roskilde, Denmark) were named to the All-Conference Rookie Team. South Florida has earned American Athletic Conference weekly honors 12 times this season. Freshman Haizea Aretxabala Blanco (Padres Paulinos, Zalla, Spain) snagged the American Conference Rookie of the Week on Oct. 17 for scoring her first collegiate goal. Her goal was the deciding factor in the Bulls 2-1 win over ECU.  Seven Bulls have earned spots on the Honor Roll with Sydney Martinez leading with four. Maria Bulis (Yorba, Calif.), Rosalia Muino Gonzalez (Coruna, Spain), Georgia Brown (Highworth, England), Daniella Chung, Serita Thurton, and Lucy Roberts (Cheshire, England) 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 19 hours and 30 minutes 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; 7,094
• Goals Against Average: 1st; 0.850.
• Saves: 4th; 258 (3rd: 275, 1st: 318)
• Saves Per Game: 10th; 3.27 (9th: 3.62; 1st: 5.07)
• Save Percentage: 5th; .794 (4th: .799; 1st: .825)
• Shutouts: 1st; 27

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.