USF Men's Soccer Takes on Jacksonville in First Exhibition Game of 2012

Soccer is back at Corbett!

Soccer is back, at least in exhibition form for the 2012 USF men's soccer team.  After going 13-4-4 (7-0-2) and making the Elite 8 for the first time last year, the Bulls return to the field in hopes of making another postseason run. 

They will begin their preparation for the season with the first of two exhibition matches starting with a game against Jacksonville.  The Dolphins finished last season at 9-8-2 (5-2-1) but were 3-2-2 away from home last season and lost several senior starters from last season (their recruiting class included 18 new players) so they are fielding a young team that the Bulls should be able to find their way against (game begins at 7:30PM at Corbett Stadium).

On the defensive side of the ball for the Bulls, the will be breaking in a new goalkeeper to fill the void left behind by Chris Blais. Dallas Jaye and Eric Osswald are the two favorites to win the job and it should be open competition.  Against the Dolphins offensive attack, they won't have to contend against Stefan Durr who led the team with 6 goals last season, but will face several other experienced players.  Sophomore midfielder Henrik Synnes (6-4 185-pounds) scored 1 goal and 2 assists last season. Senior midfielder David Faga (5-10 175-pounds) scored 2 goals, junior midfielder Nick Rodriguez (5-8 155-pounds) scored 3 goals and 6 assists, and junior midfielder Trey Collins (6-2 180-pounds) scored 2 goals to round out the top returning players from last season.  As was mentioned before, the Dolphins brought in 18 players in their 2012 recruiting class, so expect a lot of young players to rotate on the field.  The Bulls should be able to figure out their defensive alignment and find the right goalkeeper in this game without dealing a very veteran offensive attack. 

On the other side, the Dolphins will have an experienced goalkeeper (using that term loosely) in junior Gavin Carlin (6-5 210-pounds) who appeared in 9 games last season, allowing 12 goals against him while making 31 saves.  Newcomers such as Edwin Moalosi and Samuel Hosseini to get into the offensive groove with returning players.  They should be able to get a few quick scores and figure out the best rotations in preparation for the regular season.

The Bulls will play one more exhibition game on August 18th at 7:30PM at Corbett against the University of Tampa Spartans before starting the regular season with a nationally televised game against Michigan.