The Bulls will host UConn on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Corbett Stadium in the AAC First Round.
TAMPA (Nov. 5, 2019) – Adrian Billhardt (Berlin, Germany) scored two goals, and Trey Jackson (Ocala, Fla.) tallied one goal, as the University of South Florida men’s soccer team handed Memphis a 3-1 loss in the regular season finale for both schools on Tuesday night in Memphis. The Bulls improve to 10-5-1* overall and 4-3-1* in the American Athletic Conference, while the Tigers are 10-6 on the year and 4-3 in The American.
The win catapults the Bulls into the third seed and a position to host a first-round match in the upcoming American Athletic Conference Tournament. USF will face the No. 6 seed, UConn on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The Huskies (5-11-1, 2-5-0) clinched the final spot in the championship field on Tuesday, downing Tulsa 6-3. The winner of the USF-UConn match will face SMU on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 4:30 p.m. at UCF in Orlando.
Billhardt came up big for the Bulls on Tuesday with his third career two-goal match, and his first since 2017. Billhardt got USF on the board in the 20th minute of play off an assist from Freddy Gil (West Palm Beach, Fla.). That goal would stand for the rest of the half as the Bulls took a 1-0 lead into the locker room at the intermission. The Green and Gold came out in the second stanza and didn’t waste any time attacking as Jackson beat Memphis goalkeeper Parker Lackland in the 49th minute for what would eventually be the game winner.
The Billhardt-Gil combination would strike again in the 82nd minute of play adding an insurance goal to the board for USF.
The Tigers finally broke through in the 86th minute, however it would be too little too late for Memphis.
Despite the positive outcome for the Bulls, the Tigers out shot USF 12-9, including a slight 6-5 margin in shots on goal.
USF goalkeeper Harrison Devenish-Meares (Sydney, Australia) recorded five saves on the night in the win.
Quotable
“The guys played a very disciplined game tonight. It’s an important road win at a vital time of the season. (I’m) Proud of the boys.” – USF head coach Bob Butehorn on USFs win at Memphis.
Scoring Summary
USF – Adrian Billhardt (Freddy Gil; 19:56)
USF – Trey Jackson (Unassisted; 48:51)
USF – Adrian Billhardt (Freddy Gil; 82:07)
MEM – Peter Chang (Artur DeLuca, Ben Roberts; 85:35)
1 2 F
USF 1 2 3
Memphis 0 1 1
Shots: USF 9, UM 12
Shots on Goal: USF 5, UM 6
Saves: USF 5, UM 2
Corner Kicks: USF 3, UM 3
Key Stat
2 – Adrian Billhardt picked a good time to recorded his third career two-goal match for the Bulls. It was also the first time since 2017 since the German native tallied a multi-goal match. He also had two against North Florida on Sept. 20, 2017 and Against Cincinnati on Sept. 30, 2017.
Up Next
USF will face UConn in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The winner will face SMU on Nov. 13, at 4:30 p.m., at UCF in Orlando.
* USF’s overall and American Athletic Conference records include a 2-1 win over Tulsa that counts towards AAC standings but is not recognized by the NCAA. Click here for details.
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