The Fletch Report: September 11th, 2023

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Welcome back to The Fletch Report, your go-to weekly newsletter dedicated to bringing you the latest on University of South Florida's Olympic Sports. In this concise and informative newsletter, we'll dive into the highlights of the previous week's athletic events and matches, while also offering a glimpse of what's on the horizon.

USF Women’s Soccer: Inconsistent Output

Dominant Tune Up Match: USF hosted nearby Florida College in a much needed tuneup match on Thursday evening and exploded for 13 goals in an extremely one-sided match. The Bulls found the back of the net nine times in the first half before implementing a platoon substitution in the second half where every starter was replaced. Georgia Brown lead the way for the Bulls with four goals, all off of corners, all via headers, while Anna Sutter also put together a first half hat trick.

Agonizing Defeat: Despite the offensive firepower displayed during the week, the Bulls struggled to find the back of the net against their rivals from the North. A scoreless first half saw USF and UCF battling back and forth providing promising attacks matched with a stout defense, but the second half saw both teams play into the aggressiveness a bit more. The Knights were able to score twice within 2 minutes of each other late in the match to win a non-conference War on I-4 matchup.

Looking Ahead: Conference Play is kicking off for USF women’s soccer, traveling to take on Temple on Thursday September 14th.

Score Summary:

• Florida College (W 13-0)

  • Georgia Brown (x4), Anna Sutter (x3), Micahela Hill (x2), Signe Markvardsen, Vivianne Bessette, Regan Kelly, Kendall Lincoln

• Central Florida (L 0-2

  • N/A

USF Men’s Soccer: Phenomenal First victory

Stunned the Hoosiers: The USF men’s soccer team, sporting a new 3-5-2 formation, were able to stun a top 15 Indiana Hoosiers team 1-0 this past Friday. It was the Bulls first victory over Indiana since November 11, 1984. Jalen Anderson was able to find the back of the net in the 27th minute after an assisted by Ajmeer Spengler.

The Bulls kept the pressure up all night, totaling 11 shots (8 on goal) forcing the Indiana keeper to make 7 saves. Sophomore keeper Alan Horrocks, making his 4th career start, got his first shutout and compiled 4 saves on the evening.

Looking Ahead: USF plays host to Clemson on Tuesday evening at Corbett stadium at 7 p.m.

Score Summary:

• Indiana (W 1-0)

  • Jalen Anderson

USF Volleyball: To the Dakotas

Hot to Lukewarm to Ice Cold: The Bulls made a near cross-country trip to the South Dakota Tournament, taking on IUPUI, South Dakota, and Drake respectively from Thursday to Saturday.

USF started off strong on Thursday, sweeping IUPUI 3-0 in a standout defensive performance. The Bulls compiled 5 blocks and 29 digs to fend off an aggressive game plan put together by the Jaguars. Buse Hazan lead the way for the Bulls offensively with 8 kills.

On Friday, the Bulls battled South Dakota, who is fresh off an NCAA tournament appearance last season, in a five set thriller. USF had a match point to win the game in the fifth set up 14-9 but couldn’t close out the Coyotes and dropped the critical fifth set 16-14. Statistically, the match remained close the entire way through, the Bulls found advantages in Aces (9 to 4 in favor of USF), blocks (12 to 9), and digs (80 to 76) but South Dakota put the pressure on with more kills (68 to 51) and assist (60 to 45) to pull of a come from behind victory.

Saturday morning didn’t fair much better, facing a Drake team who won 30 games last season, the Bulls were swept 3-0 in straight sets as Drake celebrated an undefeated weekend at the South Dakota Classic. USF couldn’t amass any momentum against a stout defensive Drake team who pushed 14 blocks to the Bulls 3.

Up Next: USF will stay in state but head up to Duval County to compete in the UNF tournament against USC-Upstate and UNF on Friday, and facing off against Alabama A&M on Saturday morning.

Score Summary:

• IUPUI (W 3-0)

  • 25-17, 26-24, 25-15

• South Dakota (L 2-3)

  • 17-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-20, 14-16

• Drake (L 3-0)

  • 12-25, 13-25, 19-25