Men’s Soccer Completes 2007 Schedule; Six BIG EAST Home Matches Highlighted



TAMPA, Fla. (June 14, 2007) – University of South Florida men’s soccer head coach George Kiefer revealed the team’s schedule for the 2007 season on Thursday.



The slate features ten home dates and 11 total contests against BIG EAST foes. Six of the league match-ups will take place in the USF Soccer Stadium. Including exhibition play, the Bulls will face seven total NCAA teams from 2006: Saint Louis (ex.), UVA (ex.), Connecticut, WVU, Rutgers, Cincinnati and St. John’s.



“I think we have a demanding schedule,” Kiefer said. “It’s nice being in the BIG EAST because you’re guaranteed a very competitive schedule before you even look outside of the conference.”



The Bulls will open the season with three exhibition matches. The renewed rivalry of the Rowdies Cup against the University of Tampa will take place at home on Aug. 18 and Saint Louis will come to town for the second exhibition date on Aug. 21. USF travels to Charlottesville, Va., on Aug. 25 for the final warm-up date against Virginia. The Cavaliers finished the 2006 season ranked Nos. 4/6 in the country.



Regular season action begins Aug. 31 against in-state rival UCF at the USF Soccer Stadium. The Bulls hold an 18-3-4 all-time advantage over the Knights.



USF will see two non-conference opponents in the Connecticut Tournament in early September. The squad faces FIU on Sep. 7 and South Carolina on Sep. 9. The latter meeting will be the first time USF has competed against an SEC school since 1999.



BIG EAST Conference play will commence when USF welcomes Connecticut on Sep. 21 to kick off a five game stretch against league opponents.



A second stretch of six-straight games against BIG EAST teams will be the longest of the season for USF, during which the team will see back-to-back 2006 NCAA teams Rutgers in Piscataway (Oct. 20), and Cincinnati four days later in Tampa.



The Bulls will also tangle with national powers West Virginia on Sep. 30 and St. John’s on Nov. 3. The Mountaineers ended the Bulls’ 2006 campaign with a 1-0 defeat in the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Championships and finished the year with Nos. 5/18 rankings. The match against St. John’s will be the regular season finale. The Red Storm concluded 2006 ranked 13/23.



“A key is to take it one game at a time,” Kiefer continued. “The first game against UT is the one that’s on our mind right now and learning from that game and getting better after every game so we won’t look ahead too much. They’re all tough.”



The first round of the BIG EAST Championships will begin on Nov. 7 on campus sites, with the 2007 NCAA Tournament kicking off Nov. 23-24, also from campus sites.