TAMPA, OCT. 6, 2016 – While the state of Florida was dealing with Hurricane Matthew, the University of South Florida routed the Tulsa Hurricane 2-0. The Bulls’ offense surged Thursday night despite 90 minutes of heavy rain at Corbett Stadium in its conference home opener.

 

USF (5-5-3, 2-1-0 The American) opened up the scoring in the 11^th minute, Prosper Figbe (Ilorin, Nigeria) broke up the Hurricane offense and found Melvin Becket (Melbourne, Australia) on the run. Becket dished a ball to Nazeem Bartman (Cape Town, South Africa) for a quick goal inside the 18.

 

The Bulls’ sealed their second American Athletic Conference victory in the 38^th minute. Figbe’s stellar defense continued when the sophomore sent a clear up the near side to Becket. The South Africa native found a window and sailed past two Hurricane defenders for his first goal of the year.

 

Spasoje Stefanovic (Belgrade, Serbia) turned in a clean sheet in 90 minutes of action and collected three saves.

 

Quotable:

Head coach George Kiefer on playing Tulsa:

“We always enjoy playing Tulsa because they play really good soccer. They connect a lot of passes and they play some long, some short. It’s always a fun game. I think both teams respect each other. I thought our guys did a really good job attacking their weaknesses. We did a sound job defensively so I’m very pleased with our effort tonight.”

 

Senior Melvin Becket (#8) on the weather:

“This is what we prepare for. We can’t let the weather affect us. We have to do what we’re supposed to do and follow the game plan, we can’t let the weather be a factor and I don’t think we did tonight.”

 

Key Stat:

USF held a 7-4 shot advantage in the first half, three on goal.

 

Notables:

The Bulls picked up their fifth shutout of the year, the first since their 3-0 victory over Buffalo Sept. 18. All five shutouts have been at Corbett Stadium.

 

USF shot in the double-figures (10) for the third time this season.

 

Figbe tallied his first points of the season, collecting two assists.

 

Becket’s goal is his first of the year.

 

 

Up Next:

USF travels to Florida Gulf Coast Oct. 11 for its final nonconference match of the year. The match is slated for 7 p.m. at FGCU Soccer Complex in Fort Myers.  

 

The Bulls have reached the NCAA Tournament in nine of the last 11 years, including an 11-6-3 record and a second round NCAA appearance last season. Head coach George Kiefer was named the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) East Region Coach of the Year. Kiefer led USF to its eighth NCAA tournament appearance in the past nine years and earned the No. 2 ranking in the NSCAA East Region. The Bulls posted double-digit wins for the ninth time under Kiefer in 14 seasons and went undefeated at home during the regular season.

 

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