Soccer is back and Coach Denise Schilte-Brown (34-32-12) and her team are looking to rebound after a somewhat disappointing 2011 campaign for the Bulls. The team began the season well, but faded down the stretch in Big East play, forcing them to miss the postseason.
With a brand new stadium to call home, the team started the season hot, winning multiple matches as top striker Chelsea Klotz (4 goals and 1 assist) and star goalie Nicole McClure (87 saves on the season) led the way for the Bulls. But after the hot start, the team struggled down the stretch in conference play (Klotz suffered a concussion as well missing time) as the team ended the year with a 6-8-4 record andwent just 2-6-3 in the conference. The team went 5-4-2 at home, showing the impact at the new Corbett Stadium had on the team and the fans who made it to the games, but the play in the Big East proved to be the unwinding of their season.
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The team lost a lot of key contributors from the 2011 squad. Along with Klotz and McClure, the team lost Molly Stack, Valerie O'Brien, Noelle Pineiro, and Gina Pacheco among others. Stack was a key player on defense and Pineiro and Pacheco were key on offense, adding big goals and helping on the offensive attack. Klotz was probably the best striker last season before she got banged up late in the season, but the team is not depleted.
Yet despite the losses, 2012 is going to be a big season for the Bulls. For starters, the team returns a strong nucleus of players such as Kayla Bala, Demi Stokes, Summer Ikeda, and Alex "Boo" Eagle to the roster. Stokes is a premier striker for the Bulls, Bala proved at times to be a solid attacker and Ikeda could be the next goalkeeper for the Bulls taking over for McClure. Along with the strong returning corps of players, the Bulls inked 11 players in their recruiting class, 6 of them making the ESPN Rise Florida ranking and some with international experience. Names such as Martinez and Drinkwater will be key players for this team entering the season and the team will need them to come together fast and make an impact if the team wants to compete this season.
USF will have 7 games at home this season as they try to return to the postseason (made a run in 2010). They have two exhibition matches to get the year started against Florida Gulf Coast and Jacksonville before they open the regular season on August 17th against UCF and then face Miami on the 19th (tough stretch to open the season for the ladies, but builds them up for conference play). They will follow that with two tournaments on the road before returning home to open up Big East play with Pitt coming to town. This is a pretty tough draw for the ladies as they will be tested early in the season. With just 7 home games on the schedule, the team will have to learn on the road in tough environments which can be tough for a young team, but will also be a great learning tool for the team as they look to improve on the disappointing 2011 season and return to the postseason.
So what can we expect from the 2012 season for the Bulls? The biggest question the team faces is the need for a new goal keeper now that McClure is gone. Ikeda seems to be the player to beat at this point, but Drinkwater and Endler, despite being young, are key players that the coaching staff recruited and could battle for playing time. The next question they have to fill is on the defensive back line as they replace Molly Stack and look for others to become role players on defense. Eagle and others will be key to this season to help defend the net and take the pressure off the new goal keeper. The last question, an easier one to answer for the Bulls, is on offense and replacing Klotz. Stokes really emerged as a top striker for the Bulls, but the team will need someone to rise up behind her and help answer the question. Can Bala or Patterson step up and add more on offense or will one of the freshmen come up big for the team this season to help add on the scoring attack? That is still left to be figured out.
Season Prediction: The Bulls had just 6 wins last season, 8 losses and a lot of ties. The team struggled down the stretch to get a key goal and the backline let opponents attack in the last minutes of games. If the Bulls can find a new goalkeeper to help take over the job and can find more on offense to help Stokes out, the team should be able to get above 6 wins, probably around the 8 to 10 range. If they can make the Big East tournament, it will be a huge accomplishment for the team and the program as they get back to their winning ways, but there is a lot to figure out for the team.
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