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USF fell in heartbreaking fashion on Sunday as the Bulls lost on penalty kicks in the AAC tournament title game to Tulsa. USF came up just short in this one.
The two sides would go into break after a scoreless first half. USF led in total shot attempts at 6 to 4 while Spasoje Stefanovic made 3 saves to keep the Hurricanes off the board.
In the second half, the Bulls would go ahead 1 to 0 in the 51st minute on a goal from Nazeem Bartman (assist from Marcus Epps), his 6th of the season and second in as many games in this tournament. The lead would hold until the 72nd minute when Juan Sanchez (his third of the year), hit the game tying goal, pushing the match into overtime.
After two scoreless overtime periods, the game came down to penalty kicks where Tulsa would win 4 to 3. Marcus Epps missed a kick while Tulsa’s Ray Saari made his, beating Stefanovic and taking the title in front of the Corbett crowd. It was a tough way to lose a game, but I have to tip my cap to Tulsa and its ability to fight back.
Stefanovic made 3 saves during regulation for the Bulls. Jake McGuire made 5 saves for Tulsa and came up huge during the penalty kicks.
The Bulls will now await their NCAA tournament fate with the selection show tomorrow at 1 PM. I hope they get in, the resume is strong, and this team deserves to keep playing, but for now, we just have to wait and see what happens next.
by Matt Staton
SoFloBulls.com Columnist | @USFMatt
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