USF Tries To Solve Huskies

South Florida Winless in Six Games Against UConn

December 1, 2007

Who: South Florida at UConn
Where: Storrs, Connecticut
When: Sunday, Dec. 2 – Noon

The South Florida men’s soccer team travels to Storrs feeling the pressure that going 0-6 -- including 0-2 this season – with two goals scored against your opponent produces.

The type of pressure that grows game by game as the losses mount up. The kind where a furry, little primate starts to make his home perched on your back.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, the only way they can prevent the monkey on their collective backs from growing into a four-story creature seen at your local theater two winters ago is to beat UConn – a tall task considering the Huskies are running on a seven-game win streak and entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed.

The BIG EAST Champion Huskies (18-2-1) are currently ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA/adidas poll and No. 1 in the Soccer America poll. This is UConn’s 10th consecutive trip to the College Cup and 28th overall. And as the No. 3 seed, the Huskies are guaranteed home field advantage until the College Cup semifinals as long as they continue to advance.

Coach Ray Reid's talented team is led by senior All-American back Julius James who was named Big East Defender of the Year for the third time and junior forward O'Brian White, the Big East Offensive Player of the Year, who leads the nation in both goals (19) and points (41). The Huskies rank 10th in the NCAA in offense (2.19 goals per game) and are eighth in goals against average (0.56) with freshman Josh Ford playing all 21 games in goal.

And while the Huskies beat USF twice this season, including a 2-0 victory in the BIG EAST Quarterfinals, South Florida nevertheless possesses the type of firepower that can overcome any disadvantage. The nation’s 17-th ranked offense outscored opponents, 40-18 this season, good for 1.95 goals per game. The Bulls also outshot their opponents 123-81 in the first period and 16-9 in overtime.

Midfielder Kevon Neaves, who scored 15 points over his first two seasons at USF, has surpassed his season-high total in points by recording 20 this season. Neaves also recorded his career game-highs in goals (2) and points (5) in the 5-2 win over UCF to begin the year. Simon Schoendorf has tied his season-high in goals (7) and eclipsed his season assist total of seven, notching 13 helpers this season.

USF keeper Diego Restrepo has eight of the 2007 team’s nine blank sheets. Restrepo notched his career-high in saves with seven against No. 15 USC.

UConn men’s soccer midfielder Dori Arad continued his torrid postseason hot streak, scoring his fourth goal of the playoffs 41 seconds into the game Wednesday to lead the third-seeded Huskies to a 2-0 win over Vermont in NCAA second round action at Joseph J. Morrone Stadium.

O’Brian White added some insurance with a second-half goal and UConn rolled past Vermont, ending the Catamounts storybook run through the second half of the season.

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