USF gets road victory, remains undefeated

The last time USF faced an ACC opponent away from home, the Bulls were stomped 5-0 by Wake Forest in the 2008 NCAA tournament.

USF midfielder Shawn Chin made sure this weekend would be a better road trip.

In front of an announced crowd of 875, the No. 8 Bulls (4-0-0) came away with another important early season win, defeating the Virginia Tech Hokies 1-0 Friday night in Blacksburg on Chin’s early second-half goal.

“That was a very good game for us,” said Bulls coach George Kiefer. “(Virginia Tech) had a great crowd that really supported their team. It was a good experience for our guys to play in an environment like that and come away with a big win.”

As has been the case all season, the match got off to a slow start, with both teams taking three shots. Two of the Hokies’ (1-2-1) shots saved by Jeff Attinella gave him his third-straight shutout.

Chin answered the call just 18 seconds into the second half. He moved the ball into the Hokies’ zone and fired a shot 25 yards away from the net that landed in the lower left corner, giving the Bulls a 1-0 lead they would not relinquish.

“Chin is a really special player who got us a huge goal,” Kiefer said. “He saw that the goalie was leaning one way, so he just blasted a shot to the other corner. It was a great goal for him.”

The goal was Chin’s first at USF. The Miami native played the previous two seasons at Boston College – another ACC school – recording six goals and four assists in 42 games.

The win marks the third time in the past five years that USF opened its season with four consecutive victories. USF is ranked No. 8 in the country in the NSCAA poll.

“Honestly, we don’t pay too much attention to the rankings,” Kiefer said. “It does feel nice but we are just trying to get better as team each and every day. I don’t think our players even know where we are ranked.”