Miami Soccer Faces USF in Home Opener Friday

Miami Soccer Faces USF in Home Opener Friday

Sept. 13, 2007

Coral Gables, Fla. – After four games on the road, the University of Miami women’s soccer team will play host to in-state rival South Florida in its home opener at Cobb Stadium on Fri., Sept. 14, at 7 p.m.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children, and the first 50 fans at the game receive a free water bottle.

The Hurricanes (2-1-1) enter Friday’s match with a perfect 4-0-0 all-time record versus the Bulls (0-2-1) – who have yet to notch a goal in three games this season. Conversely, Miami is off to a strong start and has already tallied 12 goals four games into 2007 – more than halfway to its 2006 total of 22 goals after 18 games. Averaging 3.0 goals per game, the Hurricanes rank 16th in the nation in scoring offense.

Freshman Brittney Steinbruch (Wyckoff, N.J.) leads the Hurricanes’ offense with five goals for an ACC-leading 1.25 goals per game to rank 11th in the NCAA. Fellow freshman Lauren Singer (Mt. Sinai, N.Y.) adds 1.00 goal per game, while sophomore transfer Beverly Goebel (Moreno Valley, Calif./Sacramento State) contributes a team-high 0.75 assists per game, good for fourth in the league and 29th in the NCAA. Senior goalkeeper Lauren McAdam (Simsbury, Conn.) anchors Miami’s defense and has grabbed nine saves over the last two games, as the Hurricanes rank among the ACC’s top-five teams with 3.75 saves per game.

Like Miami, USF has yet to play a home game – and won’t until its eighth match of the season on Sept. 28 versus Connecticut. The Bulls opened the season with a double overtime scoreless draw at Stetson, and went on to drop tough matches at No. 14 Florida and Georgia.

The Hurricanes defeated the Bulls, 1-0, in their last meeting on Sept. 15, 2006, in Coral Gables, and have outscored USF 10-2 in their four previous games.

Miami then continues its non-conference schedule with a home match versus Binghamton on Sun., Sept. 16, at 1 p.m. in the first meeting between the programs. The Bearcats (0-3-1) have also played the early part of their schedule on the road, and opened 2007 with back-to-back double-overtime matches, the first ending in 1-0 defeat to Northeastern and the next in a 1-1 tie at Akron. Binghamton will play FIU on Thursday before heading to Coral Gables for Sunday’s showdown. Danielle White leads the Bearcats with a pair of goals this season, while Erin Iman has notched 22 saves in all 404 minutes in goal.

Following this weekend, the Hurricanes head to Central Florida for 7 p.m. match on Wed., Sept. 19, before returning to Cobb Stadium for three-straight contests – including ACC battles versus N.C. State and perennial powerhouse North Carolina to close out the first month of the 2007 campaign.