Michigan
0-0-1
USF
0-0-1
Wolverines Earn 0-0 Draw at No. 19 South Florida
8/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
» USF's top offensive threat and MAC Herman Watch List member Nazeem Bartman was shown his second caution and was sent off in the 58th minute, leaving U-M with a man advantage for the final 52 minutes of action.
» The draw is the first result against a ranked opponent to start the season on the road since 2004.
» With two saves and the clean sheet, junior Evan Louro earned the 10th shutout of his career.
Site: Tampa, Fla. (Corbett Stadium)
Score: Michigan 0, #19 South Florida 0 (2OT)
Records: U-M (0-0-1), USF (0-0-1)
Next U-M Game: Monday, Aug. 29 -- at Florida Gulf Coast (Fort Myers, Fla.), 7 p.m.
TAMPA, Fla. -- Following a weather delay of nearly 45 minutes at the start of the match, the University of Michigan men's soccer team played to a 0-0 draw with the No. 19 South Florida Bulls on Friday (Aug. 26) in the sides' season opener at Corbett Stadium.
Evan Louro
Riding the heels of an overall positive start to the match, sophomore Francis Atuahene made his presence known in the 13th minute, as he darted down the left flank into daylight. He then cut in on his right foot and fired a shot near post that was smothered by USF goalkeeper Christian Knight in the top chance for the Wolverines in the early going.
After heading into the half knotted at 0-0 and shots at 2-2, both continued to struggle to mount serious chances on goal. USF's top chance of the early portion of the second came in the 57th minute, as junior goalkeeper Evan Louro had a moment of brilliance, stopping a point-blank shot off the foot of USF forward Nazeem Bartman with a kick save that deflected out of bounds.
Minutes later, a turning point in the match occurred, as USF enjoyed possession at top of the box, before the ball found the foot of Bartman, who was checked by senior left back Rylee Woods. Bartman, who was issued a caution in the first half, was then called for a dive just inside the box and shown his second yellow en route to getting sent off and bringing USF to 10 men the rest of the match.
Focusing more on a possession style with the man advantage, the Maize and Blue began stringing together sequences of numerous passes and focused on ball movement but was unable to find its difference maker in regular time as the match went to overtime.
Out of the gate in the extra session, U-M transitioned to a more attacking formation to further exploit their advantage. In the extra sessions, U-M's best chance came in the waning moments of the first extra time period in the 99th. Off a corner from sophomore Robbie Mertz, freshman Jack Hallahan struck a half volley in traffic from 10 yards out that was blocked. The match slogged along in the extra sessions with stoppages due to heat exhaustion and cramping.
U-M continues its opening weekend road trip, traveling to Fort Myers to take on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Monday (Aug. 29) at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed live via ESPN3.
