USF ties No. 8 Louisville on the road
USF ended its three-game road losing streak on Tuesday night against the No. 8 team in the nation.
In addition to ending the streak, goalkeeper Christian Knight, who didn't start any of the previous road games, extended his unbeaten streak in goal to four games as the Bulls tied Louisville 1-1 in front of 1,567 people at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium.
Knight recorded eight saves and allowed one goal in the games 110 minutes of play. Peppering the goal with shots throughout, the Cardinals missed out on opportunities to extend their lead over the Bulls.
"I think because of us not capatalizing on chances it kept them in the game," Louisville coach Ken Lolla said. "You keep a team in the game and once chance then changes it and for us tonight, we didn't take care of our opportunities."
Before Tuesday, USF (4-3-1) had lost its previous three matches against ranked opponents in 2017, all of which were on the road.
The Cardinals struck first in the 17th minute when forward Tate Schmitt settled a free kick in the box and volleyed the ball into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season.
"We had to manage that team (USF)," Schmitt said. "They played a style that we really haven't seen too much. They were really good at keeping the ball and swinging it… That team found a lot of openings but the defense was there to shut it down."
The Bulls' had nine shots, with five being on goal.
USF answered Schmitt's goal in the 55th minute with a goal from freshman midfielder Josue Monge – the first of his career – while senior midfielder Ricardo Gomez and freshman defender Avionne Flanagan were credited with an assist. The goal was the first allowed by Louisville since Sept. 15 and was the first goal ever allowed by Cardinal goalkeeper Will Meyer, who was in his first career start Thursday.
The Cardinals (6-1-2), who has wins over No. 25 Butler and No. 7 Syracuse in 2017, made it into the quarter finals of last year’s NCAA tournament, while USF was ousted by FGCU in the first round.
USF returns home for its first AAC match of the year on Saturday against Cincinnati (5-3-1). The Bearcats were the only conference opponent to top USF last season, defeating USF, the eventual AAC champions, 2-1 in Cincinnati.