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Soccer team has big game

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 5, 2001

The men's soccer team defeated Louisville 1-0 Saturday to remain unbeaten and set up one of the biggest regular-season games in school history.

The Bulls host Conference USA rival Alabama-Birmingham at 7 tonight at the USF Soccer Stadium. USF (8-0, 2-0) is ranked No. 8 by Soccer America and No. 10 by collegesoccer.com. UAB (6-1, 2-0) is ranked No. 18 by collegesoccer.com.

UAB beat USF last year, and in 1999, the Blazers knocked the Bulls out of the conference tournament.

Matt Cavenaugh had the goal, his first of the season, in the win at Louisville. Kevin Cowan has assisted on the winning goal in the Bulls' past two games. USF's Soccer America ranking is the highest in school history, eclipsing a No. 9 ranking in 1975. With wins over UAB and Sunday at East Carolina, USF will be one win from its best start. USF started 10-0-1 in 1966 and 1983.

USF and UAB are two of three ranked C-USA teams. Traditional powerhouse St. Louis is ranked No. 5 by Soccer America, No. 2 by collegesoccer.com.

APPEAL DENIED: Jimmie Giles Jr.'s quest to play football is over. The son of the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers All-Pro tight end had his appeal for a sixth year of eligibility denied by the NCAA.

Giles, a 6-foot-4, 330-pound offensive lineman and 1996 Tampa Catholic graduate, played football at Florida A&M and baseball at Grambling before coming to USF. The basis of his appeal was a back injury that caused him to miss last season.

SHE'S FAST: Kristy Fuller, a 1999 Land O'Lakes graduate and member of the cross-country team, has been named the C-USA athlete of the week (Sept. 24-30).

Fuller, a junior, placed seventh among 241 runners Saturday at the Auburn Invitational. Her time of 17 minutes, 4.47 seconds over the 5K course set a personal best by nearly a minute, and she led the Bulls to a seventh-place finish. USF's next meet is Oct. 13 in Greenville, S.C.

ON THE REBOUND: The volleyball team bounced back from a five-game loss Saturday at DePaul -- which ended a five-match win streak -- to defeat UAB in three games Tuesday at the Corral.

USF (9-4, 3-1) has two home conference matches this weekend, at 7 tonight against Cincinnati and at 2 p.m. Sunday against Louisville (9-1).

The Cardinals might be the biggest threat to the Bulls' C-USA title defense. They are ranked No. 23 in the AVCA/USA Today poll.

Bulls outside hitter Michelle Collier, the school career-record holder in kills with 1,830, recently became the sixth player in USF history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.

OLD HAT: Defensive tackle Tchecoy Blount also has been practicing at defensive end this week because Emerson Morris, who started three games this season, broke his leg Saturday against North Texas.

It shouldn't be a hard adjustment for Blount. The 6-2, 260-pound senior from Dixie Hollins started 17 games his first three years, all at defensive end, before switching to tackle this season. He has 81/2 sacks and 23 tackles for loss in his career.

ICERS RULE!: USF's club hockey team opens its season with games Oct. 12 and 13 against Georgia at the Ice Sports Forum in Brandon.

The Bulls play Georgia Tech on Nov. 17 at the Ice Palace after the Lightning's game against Carolina.

-- Pete Young covers USF sports. He can be reached at (727) 893-8129 or via e-mail at

young@sptimes.com.

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