USF Women’s Soccer Falls 2-1 to Memphis

USF and Memphis met in a rematch of the American Athletic Conference title game last season, where Memphis defeated USF 3-0 at Corbett Stadium.

With the Bulls looking to avenge last season, it was the Tigers who came out on top again, defeating USF 2-1 to move to 10-1 on the year and 2-0 in the conference. USF on the other hand is 6-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play so far.

It was the same statistical story for the Bulls as they continue to outshoot their opponents, but are struggling to consistently find the back of the net. The Bulls outshot Memphis 18-9 and kept the offensive pressure on their side of the field, but it was the Tigers who got on the board first. A poor clearance by USF in the 31st minute led to Memphis’ Claire Abrey one-on-one with the goalie, where she easily found the back of the net to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead at the half.

In the second half, USF evened things up when senior Evelyne Viens got one past the Memphis goalie for her ninth goal of the year after being assisted by junior Katie Kitching and senior Aubrey Megrath. A mere three minutes later however, Abrey found the back of the net again for the Tigers, putting the visitors back up 2-1.

The Bulls would continue to get chances and opportunities to level the score, but all were unsuccessful as Memphis goalie Elizabeth Moberg would collect 7 saves on the day. On the opposite end, Sydney Martinez was in goal for USF, where she made three saves in her first start since the Auburn game at the beginning of the season.

Head coach Denise Schilte-Brown noted on starting Sydney Martinez over true freshman Katrina Haarmann came down to that Memphis tends to shoot high shots, which favors Martinez’s height (6’0”) over Haarmann (5’7”).

USF will look to bounce back on the road as they travel to Houston this Thursday to take on the Cougars, who are sitting at 3-7 on the season.