STORRS, CONN., NOV. 14, 2014 – In the last three prior meetings between USF and UConn, the teams combined for only two goals and Friday night’s American Athletic Conference semifinal in Storrs, Conn., was no different.

The Bulls and Huskies played 110 minutes of scoreless soccer in sub-freezing temperatures before USF dominated in penalty kicks to advance to the conference championship for the second consecutive season.

Spasoje Stefanovic made two huge saves for USF while UConn (10-6-3, 6-1-1 American) missed all four of their opportunities in the penalty kick shootout. The Bulls only needed three chances to wrap up the shootout as Gerardo Hernandez and Edwin Moalosi both cashed in for the Green and Gold.

It was a defensive struggle both teams throughout much of the game, especially in the first half where both sides combined for only one shot on goal.

USF (10-7-2, 4-3-1 American) started off quickly and looked very aggressive to start the game, keeping the ball in UConn’s half for most of the first 15 minutes. The Huskies were able to withstand the Bulls’ early possession, however, and generated a couple of scoring chances of their own late in the half before heading into the break in a 0-0 tie

Both sides turned up the intensity in the second half and the game opened up with both USF and UConn generating a number of quality chances.

Moalosi was sprung free twice in the box and even put one in the back of the net on the second opportunity but was ruled offside on both occasions.

Lindo Mfeka also had a few good chances for the Bulls, sending a shot from the top of the box just wide in the 55^th minute and missing again from long range in the 68^th minute.

USF absorbed a big blow in 74^th minute when defender Brandon Riley received his second yellow card of the game, resulting in the Bulls having to play a man down for the final 16 minutes of the second half and both overtime periods.

However, instead of getting down on themselves, head coach George Kiefer thought the team rallied around that moment.

“I felt like they all fed off of that,” Kiefer said. “I think if you look at the group that motivated them even more to fight.”

With the Bulls down a man, Stefanovic, made a couple of big saves late in the second half to keep the game scoreless. His best save came off the ensuing free kick following Riley’s second yellow, where he made a great save on a header from about eight yards out by Nicholas Zuniga.

Despite playing with only 10 men, USF was able to generate a couple more chances before the end of regulation, none better than Moalosi’s in the 87^th minute when he and UConn goalkeeper Scott Levene raced for a loose ball at the top of the box. Unfortunately for the Bulls, Levene was able to get there just a shade earlier than Moalosi to keep the game scoreless.

Just like the conference championship game last season, the Bulls and Huskies headed to overtime locked in a scoreless draw.

UConn had all three shots in the first overtime period, but the USF defense held strong with a blocked shot and a save by Lucas Baldin on a shot that looked goal bound with under 30 seconds to go in the period.

The second overtime brought much of the same as the Huskies held the Bulls without a shot, but Stefanovic and the back line were able to hold on and get the game to penalty kicks.

Coach Kiefer said he felt confident in his team heading into the penalty kick shootout, especially Stefanovic, and the American Co-Goalkeeper of the Year did not disappoint.

The junior from Belgrade Serbia stopped Cyle Larin on UConn’s first attempt and also saved Dylan Greenberg’s attempt in the third round to help secure the victory.

“We’ve watched him practice PKs for a while and we knew he was going to save a couple, so I felt confident going into the PKs that we could pull away with it,” Kiefer said after the game.

The Huskies missed their other two attempts, blasting both shots way over the net, while Hernandez and Moalosi both slotted their opportunities home to help USF advance to the American Athletic Conference Championship game for the second straight year.

The Bulls will take on Tulsa, who defeated SMU 2-0 in the first semifinal of the day, Sunday at noon in Storrs, Conn. The game will air live on ESPN3 and the winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“Tulsa is a very good team and we had them at home and they beat us at our place. It’s been a week where we’ve been getting teams back so we’re going to come out ready to play on Sunday.”