TAMPA, Fla. (October 24, 2024) – The University of South Florida women's soccer team won its fifth straight match and closed its regular season home slate with a 9-2 record at Corbett Stadium with a 1-0 victory over UTSA on Thursday night. Sadie Sider-Echenberg played the hero for the second-straight contest as the Bulls defeated the Roadrunners 1-0.
 
Sider-Echenberg, the reigning AAC Offensive Player of the Week, also delivered the game-winning goal in South Florida's 2-1 victory at North Texas on Sunday.
 
South Florida picked up three crucial points as the quest for the AAC Regular Season Title is on the line. The Bulls moved back into first place with 20 points. Memphis and Rice, who are just behind USF, also play on Thursday night. A Memphis win would make a tie for first between the Bulls and Tigers. A Rice and Memphis draw would leave South Florida in first place, with Memphis in second place with 18 points and Rice in third with 17 points.
 
USF improved to 11-2-3 overall and 6-1-2 in AAC matches with the win on Thursday, while UTSA fell to 7-7-3 overall and 2-5-2 in conference play. Chris Brown is now tied for the most wins by a head coach in their first season at USF.
 
The Bulls got on the board first, thanks to great passing. Serita Thurton sent a beautiful ball into the box for Kat Burnell. Burnell chipped it ahead for a waiting Sider-Echenberg. Sider-Echenberg rocketed a shot into the back of the net.
 
South Florida took a 1-0 lead into the break.
 
The stout South Florida defense came through in the second half, keeping UTSA off the board. Leire Herraez Gallach notched five saves in the second half as USF took down UTSA, 1-0.
 
Herraez Gallach improved to 11-2-3 in net for the Bulls and tallied her AAC-leading ninth clean sheet. With her goal tonight, Sider-Echenberg has scored the last three goals for South Florida and her fifth of the year. Thurton picked up team-leading sixth assist of the season, while Burnell earned her second.
 
Notable
· Chris Brown is now tied for the most wins by a head coach in their first season at USF.
· Sadie Sider-Echenberg has scored three straight goals for the Bulls.
· Leire Herraez Gallach notched her conference-leading ninth shutout of the season. 
· The Bulls have outshot their opponents in 13 of the 16 matches. 
 
Next Up
South Florida closes out the regular season on Sunday, October 27, with a road trip to Tulsa. The first touch is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET.

About South Florida 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 2024 season will be the first with Chris Brown at the helm. He spent the last 17 seasons as the associate head coach. Brown helped lead the Bulls to three AAC regular season titles, three AAC Tournament titles, and eight NCAA Tournament appearances – winning a conference title every year from 2017-21 while making five straight NCAA appearances during that period. Brown helped lead the Bulls to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in 2010, a program-record 16 wins and program-best NCAA Tournament third-round appearance in 2019, both conference regular season and tournament titles in 2020, and a string of 10 straight seasons with 10 or more wins (2012-21). Brown has helped lead the Bulls to every NCAA appearance in program history, including two appearances in the second round, and three AAC Championship Game appearances.
 
As associate head coach, he mentored the program's first All-American and recent USF Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Evelyne Viens, who went on to earn three total All-America honors and an Olympic gold medal with the Canadian National Team at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo. Goalie Sydney Martinez (2020) and forward Sydny Nasello (2020 and 2021) also earned All-America honors and were among the Bulls that have earned a total of eight AAC Offensive Player of the Year, AAC Midfielder of the Year, AAC Defensive Player of the Year or AAC Goalkeeper of the Year honors. Players he has coached hold every program's individual record and most, if not all, of the top 10 marks in every category.
 
– #GoBulls –