Men’s soccer ‘not concerned’ after ties

The No.15-ranked USF men’s soccer team may not have won any games this weekend, but it didn’t lose any either.

The Bulls tied their opponents in both games played at the USF Soccer Stadium to move to 2-0-2 in Big East play and 4-2-2 overall.

On Sunday, USF matched Big East opponent Pittsburgh in a 1-1 game the Bulls dominated. USF had 16 shots on goal, but only one point to show for it – a penalty kick from midfielder Sammy Castellanos in the 60th minute.

The Panthers had just four shots on goal, with their only point coming early in the first half.

Despite the Bulls’ inability to capitalize on big opportunities, coach George Kiefer remained optimistic about his team’s production.

“I’m not concerned about our offense at all,” Kiefer said.

“Whenever you have a match and you walk away with chances, that’s good. I give (Pittsburgh’s) goalkeeper (Andy Jorgenson) credit. I thought he was excellent.”

The Bulls also played a conference game Friday night against West Virginia. The Mountaineers, who ranked as high as eighth in the country in some polls, were baffled by the Bulls defense and senior Dane Brenner’s goalkeeping.

USF and West Virginia played to a 2-2 tie, with the Bulls scoring the tying goal in the 87th minute of regulation. Junior forward Simon Schoendorf scored the final goal for the Bulls six yards from the net with assists from forward Jordan Seabrook and midfielder Kevon Neaves. Rodrigo Hidalgo scored the first goal of the game for the Bulls early in the first half. It was Hidalgo’s second goal of the season.

In Friday’s game against West Virginia, Brenner tallied a season-high six saves and notched the sixth tie in his career at USF.