USF Women's Soccer Faces Jacksonville in Final Exhibition Game

Coach Schilte-Brown and company will look to end the exhibition part of the schedule with a win and prepare for the big season ahead. 

The USF ladies will take the field one more time in their final exhibition match before they begin the regular season on August 17th.  The Bulls, after beating FGCU 3 to 2 on Wednesday, face another team from up north in the state in the Jacksonville Dolphins (game begins at 6:30PM today at Corbett Field).  Jacksonville went 11-5-3 (7-1-2) last season, but were 3-4-2 away from home, so expect another good game for the ladies to sort out the roster before the start of the regular season.

The Dolphins will begin the season without last year's top scorer Liz Fink, but they have a loaded roster with a lot of balance that will challenge the Bulls.  Sophomore forward Kaitlyn Bassett (5-9) scored 8 goals last season and will challenge the USF goalkeepers early (will still be sorting out who will be the primary keeper for the season).  Junior forward Raquel Weckhurst (5-6) scored 6 goals and added 3 assists last season.  Senior forward Eva Leeper (5-3) added 2 goals and 2 assists last season and senior midfielder Becca Massip (5-6) added a goal and 2 assists as well.  For the young USF backline and new goalkeeper, this will be another solid test for the team as they get ready for the season opener against UCF on the 17th.   In net, senior Sarah Sierra (5-5) returns after allowing just 16 goals last season and making 77 saves in route to 7 shut out wins.  She will be very tough to get to for the Bulls strikers, but Stokes and others will get their shots and will need to get into rhythm in this game.

Two things that will be watched the most during this game is the maturation of the goalkeeping position and how the offense handles an experienced goalkeeper. Summer Ikeda did a solid job for the Bulls in the first game and will get more time in net (favorite to win the job at this stage). Also look for Sharla Passariello who had two goals in the first game and Demi Stokes who had one to continue to get into rhythm. With the new players and the questions the team has, every minute on the field is important for the ladies to get off to a good start before they host UCF on the 17th at 7:30PM which will be a tough first opponent.

This is a very important game for the Bulls.  Look for the defensive rotations to be even more ironed out in this game and for the goalkeeper position to be figured out in this game as well.