USF beats Seton Hall, ties No. 13 Rutgers
USF wanted more than just a draw Sunday against the No. 13 team in the country, but after beating Seton Hall Friday night, that’s exactly what happened.
The Bulls battled to a 0-0 stalemate with No. 13 Rutgers (9-1-3, 3-0-2) on Sunday at the USF Soccer Stadium.
“I think it’s nice to walk away without a loss, but at the same time as a competitor I don’t want to walk away from a tie,” said sophomore Valorie O’Brien. “We just played 110 minutes and not to have a winner isn’t the best outcome, but I think it’s acceptable.”
USF and Rutgers had to battle an unexpected set of circumstances, too.
Midway through the first half, a power outage caused the scoreboard and all other electronic equipment to fail. The match continued with the referee shouting the time throughout the match.
“It’s always good to look up and know how much time is left,” said sophomore forward Chelsea Klotz. “If it’s the last five (minutes), you know you try harder, but not knowing was a little difficult.”
Both teams started the game on the offensive, with the Scarlet Knights, the second ranked team USF faced this season, putting senior keeper Mallori Lofton-Malachi to the test.
Lofton-Malachi had four saves, with her most dramatic one coming early when she got the tip of her fingers on a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar.
“I’d much prefer the win and I felt that we played well enough today to get a win,” said USF coach Denise Schilte-Brown. “You don’t want to be satisfied because you want to improve.”
USF (5-4-3, 2-1-2) beat Seton Hall (4-7-1, 0-4-1) Friday night 1-0 at the USF soccer stadium.
USF scored the winner with less than 6 minutes left in the match when a 20-yard shot from Klotz sailed into the top left corner of the net.
“I didn’t think we played as well as we’re capable” Schilte-Brown said. “(Seton Hall) is a good team and they fought really hard. I thought we worked really hard as a team, and I’m seeing a team effort here and a fight to win these games.”