Bulls head to Nike Tournament

The USF women?s soccer team (1-1) heads to Jacksonville for the Nike Legends Tourney this weekend for a couple of matchups beginning tonight against The Citadel (1-0) at 7.

After a day off Saturday, the Bulls will resume play Sunday against High Point at noon.

The road trip is an opportunity for the Bulls to sort out some questions at key positions, beginning with goalkeeper.

There is no change of status in the goal for the Bulls, as Valerie Wetzel and Breck Bankester continue their battle. According to assistant coach Leslie Golden, the position is still wide open.

?We?re still going to split time. No one has won the job outright after the Wednesday game. Right now, we are still discussing it with the goalkeeper coach Blake Kernon,? Golden said.

Questions also remain on the status of junior defender Jamie Anderson, who received a red card in Sunday?s match versus Utah and sat out the match against Stetson.

?Jamie will not be able to play tomorrow as far as we know. We will find out tonight whether the red card she was given Sunday was deemed as a one or two-game suspension,? Golden said.

The Bulls? first opponent, The Citadel, also has many questions surrounding its program. The school is in its first year with a soccer program and has only played one match, which was against a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics school, Columbia College. The Citadel won 4-0.

?From the research I have done so far, they?ve played one game against a small school. They run with four forwards on top that are very talented,? Golden said.

If Anderson is unable to go, it will mean more playing time and experience for freshman defender Lyndrea Sutherland.

On the offensive side of the field, the Bulls look to build on their strong performance against Stetson. The Bulls held a 25-3 advantage in scoring opportunities and only allowed the Hatters two shots at the 76-minute mark.

Forwards Aleia Long, Danielle Aldrich, Rachel Thjomoe and Stine Hagh will all look to add to their goal totals as they all are tied for the early-season team lead with one apiece.

Chris Lemke covers women’s soccer and can be reached at oraclesports@yahoo.com