USF Men's Soccer Takes on SMU

Keep it going!

The USF Bulls, 1-0-0 to start the season after beating Michigan in Tampa 2 to 1, look to defend their  ranking (now ranked 4th in the country) as they hit the road to Tulsa, Oklahoma to take part in the Hurricane Classic.  Their first foe is Southern Methodist who is ranked 20th in the nation.  

SMU tied Campbell in their first game of the season and are looking to build off of a strong 2011 season where they went 13-7-1 (4-3-1) (9-4 vs. non-conference opponents) and making it to the 2nd round of the NCAA tournament.  So we have two tournament teams from last season, making for a great early game of the season (game begins at 4PM). 

SMU is led by sophomore midfielder Tyler Engel (5-7 163-pounds) who had 4 goals last season and 3 assists (took one shot on goal in the first game).  Senior forward Ben Hill (6-0 205-pounds) had 3 goals and 1 assist last season.  Sophomore midfielder Damian Rosales (5-6 147-pounds) had 2 goals and 2 assists last season (took 1 shot on goal last game).  Sophomore defender Aaron Simmons (6-0 166-pounds) had 2 goals and 2 assists last season to round out a very veteran group for the Mustangs.  Freshman forward/midfielder Eddie Puskarich (5-10 150-pounds) had the first goal of the season for SMU. 

In net is junior Jamie Ibarra (5-10 174-pounds) who allowed 23 goals last season (1.15 per game last season) and made 86 saves and recorded 5 shut outs.  He allowed just that one goal to Campbell and made 8 saves in the first game so he will be a challenge for the USF frontline. 

The Bulls had a lot of shots go just wide against Michigan in that first game, dictating pace and attacking constantly.  Look for them to continue to attack and be aggressive on the front line and should come out in this game strong and look to take an early lead and not let SMU have a chance.