USF FALLS TO NO. 4 ST. JOHN’S, 1-0



TAMPA – The No. 12/9 University of South Florida men’s soccer team fell to the No. 4/5 St. John’s, 1-0, in chilling 48 degree temperatures in Queens, N.Y. on Saturday night, Oct. 18.

The showdown was for sole possession of first place in the BIG EAST Conference Red Division. The Bulls fall to 8-3-2 overall and 5-2-1 in the BIG EAST conference, while St. John's is 12-1-2 and 6-1-1 in conference play.

“I thought we came out and played a very good first half," said USF head coach George Kiefer. "About 30 minutes in the second half we let the game get a little bit away from us. I give the team alot of credit because after we gave the goal up we definitely started to push to tie the game. We started to play better. We definitely left it on the field tonight and I am happy with how hard they worked.”

The battle of first place teams turned out to be a defensive struggle. The Bulls outshot the Red Storm three to one on goal, while St. John’s had six total shots to USF’s four.

In the 71st minute, the Red Storm scored the only goal of the night. Tafadzwa Chiduku shot it past USF goalkeeper Jeff Attinella after a pass from Nelson Becerra.

The Bulls will look to rebound against Florida Atlantic in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m at the USF Soccer Stadium.