Tulsa eliminates USF from tournament
It came down to overtime for the mens soccer team against the 11th-seeded Tulsa in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday night.
With 2:15 remaining in the period, a foul was called inside the goalies box against USF that set up a penalty kick for Tulsas Omar Mata, who kicked the ball into the back of the net as the Golden Hurricane ended the Bulls season 1-0 in overtime.
Senior midfielder Sebastian Thuriere said he was proud of his teammates for their work over the weekend. The Bulls defeated Florida Gulf Coast in penalty kicks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night.
Im proud of the boys because through it all, we always stuck together, Thuriere said. We came out with a good win on Thursday and I thought we had the momentum to come out with another win tonight, but thats how the game goes. It just happens how it how happens.
Coach George Kiefer said he felt his team had a chance to win.
I felt like we were good enough to win tonight, but we didnt get that done, Kiefer said.
In the first half, both teams came out of the gate with many opportunities to score including two shots by senior midfielder Kevin Olali that went wide and one shot by sophomore midfielder Wesley Charpie that hit the goal post. Senior midfielder Kyle Nicholls came close to putting the Bulls on the scoreboard, but his shot was saved.
USF entered halftime with five shots, including one shot on goal, and Tulsa ended with four shots.
USF continued where it left off, attacking the ball and playing aggressively on defense, holding the Golden Hurricane to only two shots in the half.
USF had an opportunity to score when Thuriere passed through a couple Golden Hurricane defenders, creating a one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper. He kicked the ball, but it bounced off the goalkeepers chest.
It was a great ball from Samuel (Hosseini) and he put over the top and I made a run and I was more fortunate to put a flick on the ball, Thuriere said. It touched over the guys head.
In overtime, Tulsa slowed down USFs attack and created shots before hitting in the game-winning kick to advance to the third round.
With seven seniors playing their last game as Bulls, Kiefer said the class set a bar for the younger players on the team.
Theyve been to four straight NCAAs, theyve been to Elite Eight twice, they won the Big East Championship, Kiefer said. They set a high standard where the next group of seniors who can do
better than that will have a Final Four under their belt.
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