USF’s women’s soccer team redeemed themselves after their 2-0 loss against Louisiana on Sunday by clinching a 5-1 win against Alabama A&M on Thursday in its first home game at Corbett Stadium.

Dominating the game from the start, the Bulls had two shots with junior forward Anna Sutter scoring one goal less than five minutes into the match. 

South Florida proceeded to score two more goals in the first 45 minutes, totaling 13 shots compared to zero from Alabama.

In the first half, the Bulls maintained 53% of ball possession on the field and kept that momentum for the remainder of the game. 

During the second half, South Florida placed two more goals against the Bulldogs while only allowing one in by the opponents at the 84th minute. This is the most points USF has accumulated in a match since 2019.

Head coach Denise Schilte-Brown took USF’s game-long lead in goals, shots and ball possession as a chance to make multiple substitutions so less experienced players could touch the field.

“It’s just an opportunity for young players to get adapted to what we’re doing,” Schilte-Brown said.

“We ended the game with seven players that hadn’t seen many minutes with USF. I think six of them were freshmen and one of them was a redshirt freshman so that’s exciting.”

As a veteran player for the Bulls, junior defender Vivianne Bessette said Schilte-Brown’s impact has helped her become a better leader for the new freshmen.

“I’ve been here for four years, and she has been a great inspiration for me,” Bessette said.

“She’s an amazing coach and a power woman, 100%. She allows us to have a great style of play [and] a great coach for us all.”

While reflecting on the last home opener of her career at USF, and in front of the 14th largest crowd in program history, Schilte-Brown said it’s a bittersweet feeling.

“It’s hard. You don’t want to think about it during the game.” Schilte-Brown said. 

“[Corbett] is home. You don’t want to think about leaving home until you’re forced to leave home. I’m very excited about my future of course but I want to soak up every minute of this time that I can.”