Last Nov. 16, the USF men’s soccer team celebrated on its home field after defeating St. Johns 1-0 to capture its first Big East Championship in school history.The No. 13 Bulls start their quest for another title when they open this season’s Big East Tournament at home against Marquette (4-9-3, 3-4-3) tonight at 7:30.

Despite this being the first post season match for the Bulls in 2009, Coach George Kiefer approaches it as just another game.

 “We treat every match like it’s our last so the preparation is no different for us,” Kiefer said.  “We are just trying to get better every game.”

USF and Marquette faced each other this season and played to a 1-1 tie on Sept. 18 at the USF Soccer Stadium.

Kiefer said his team is anxious for the rematch.

“Playing Marquette is a great opportunity for us,” he said.  “Our players felt like they should have played better the last time we faced (Marquette).  We were not happy to come away with a tie.”

Senior forward  Zak Boggs said it wasn’t a good night for USF.

“I don’t want to dwell on the past but a lot of things didn’t go right for us that night,” Boggs said.  “We are all itching to get on the field to hopefully come away with a big win.”

If the Bulls (12-3-2, 6-3-2) earn a victory over Marquette tonight, they would travel to South Bend to play Notre Dame (10-7-1, 8-3-0) in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

USF defeated the Fighting Irish 2-1 on Sept. 20 at the USF Soccer Stadium.

No matter what happens in the Big East Tournament, however, Kiefer feels the 2009 regular season has been a huge success

“If you asked me before the season where I thought we would be at the end after losing five seniors from last year, I wouldn’t have thought we would be 12-3-2,” he said.  “I am extremely proud of our team for the way they have played so far this season.”

Last year, South Florida was chosen to host the Big East Tournament’s Final Four and the Bulls won the championship.  This season, the semifinals and finals will be held in Morgantown, West Virginia.

If the Bulls are to repeat as conference champions in 2009, they will have to do it away from the USF Soccer Stadium – where they are 23-0-4 in their last 27 home matches.

Boggs believes that winning the Big East Championship last year has nothing to do with 2009, and that USF will really need to be at the top of its game throughout the tournament if they are to repeat.

“This is a completely different season,” he said.  “All year we have played with a target on our backs and that is what we wanted.  It has helped us improve our game on so many levels, including mental toughness which is what we are going to need to win another title.”  

-Joel Leventhal