USF begins Big East play

After another slight drop in the Soccer America polls, the No. 17 USF men’s soccer team (4-2-1) has a new challenge in front of it: stopping one of the nation’s longest home winning streaks.

The Bulls’ opponent, West Virginia, is in the midst of a 13-game home winning streak, which is the longest in all of Division I. George Kiefer said his team is looking forward to the chance to snap the streak.

“This is like a nice steak sandwich for the boys,” he said. “I’m really excited for the game. I wish we could play tomorrow. We’re going to have some fun in West Virginia.”

The Bulls are coming off an impressive victory over then-No. 10 UC-Irvine. The Bulls delivered the Anteaters the first loss of their season with a 2-0 win Sunday, putting an end to the Bulls’ three-game winless streak.

“These guys have given me enough (effort) to trust them,” Kiefer said. “They didn’t panic. And we really played a similar game to Friday night’s (a 2-1 loss to St. Louis) and came out with a 2-0 win.”

USF has already claimed an impressive road win this season, downing Wake Forest in Winston-Salem on Aug. 27. That game was played in one of the most hostile environments in college soccer and in front of 4,123 fans. Kiefer said that after beating the Demon Deacons on the road, his team should have the confidence to play anywhere.

The Bulls’ game against West Virginia will be televised nationally on CBS College Sports at 3:30 p.m. Sunday.