Women's Soccer: Bulls At No. 24/23 Marquette

[Brad]

Courtesy USF

Bulls At No. 24/23 Marquette

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of South Florida women’s soccer team concludes its seven-game road series this weekend as the Bulls play at No. 24/23 Marquette Friday night.

The Bulls and Golden Eagles kick off at 9 p.m. at Valley Fields Stadium for the BIG EAST Conference season opener. 

USF looks to gain another victory in the all-time series with Marquette, which the Bulls trail 2-8-1. USF beat Marquette, who was ranked 23rd in the country at the time, 1-0 last season in Tampa, one of only three BIG EAST victories for the Bulls. 

USF enters the weekend with a 1-3-1 record after picking up its first win of the season, a 3-2 victory over Miami, last weekend in Coral Gables. The Bulls opened the year with a 0-0 double-overtime draw with Ole Miss before heading to SEC powerhouses No. 14 Florida (L, 4-0) and Georgia (L, 3-0). After the program’s 98th all-time win on Friday, USF lost its game with FAU, 1-0, Sunday afternoon.

Senior midfielder Autumn Browning scored two of USF’s three goals while junior forward Lindsay Brauer tallied three points with a goal and an assist against Miami. Newcomer Therese Dahlberg Erikkson and sophomore Rachel Jakubowski each tallied an assist in the game as well. Sophomore goalkeeper Mallori Lofton-Malachi has made 23 saves in five games, and has posted one shut out, a 0-0 draw at Ole Miss on Sept. 2. 

The Marquette Golden Eagles, picked to finish third in the American Division of the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll, are off to a fast start with a 7-0-0 record. MU leads the league having allowed just one goal on the year over 630 minutes. The Golden Eagles also have posted six shutouts on the season. In addition, they are one of four schools across the nation that are undefeated and untied. 

Marquette boasts junior Katie Kelly, the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 17) and Soccer America Team of the Week. Freshman Ashley Bares leads the team offensively with 12 points from six goals. Senior forward Christy Zwolski has chipped in four goals and an assist for the Golden Eagle attack. 

USF’s home opener is Sept. 28 when the Bulls face off against the preseason No. 23 Connecticut Huskies at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for that game are $5 for adults, $3 for youth 16-and-under and $2 for groups of 10 or more and are available on www.GoUSFBulls.com or by calling 1-800-GoBulls.  Season tickets are also available.

[alau255]

That game last year was one of the most fun USF athletic events I have been to.  I was there with like 8 friends and we were pretty much the only ones there and we had the USF bench laughing all game with our heckling of the other team and it worked.