Watched the women play USF last evening online. USF has some players. 1-1 draw until the 9:48 second mark of the 2nd OT period (they play 10 min OTs). TU scored first. It was apparent what TU's strategy for this game was. Pack it in defensively, kick the crap out of the ball to clear it out and pick spots to counter. I think USF was the preseason favorite and I now understand why. Lot's of talent and depth. TU's strategy worked pretty well and TU's GK played very well. The USF keeper was nothing special(maybe 5'4", couldn't jump, not very good hands). She never punted and she didn't take her own goal kicks. Not punting is not an issue it should be a last resort. Not taking one's own goal kicks tells me there is a deficiency in her game...either she can't get the ball in the air or she doesn't have the leg strength.I digress. USF tied the game early in the 2nd half. USF frequently got forward. They had 28 shots and forced McKay to make 10 saves on the night. USF keeper only had to make 3. TU would always find a gap in the counter but it was usually a solo effort with no support. TU had a couple of dangerous chances late in regulation and in both OTs, the last one early in the 2nd OT from about the spot, TU player sky'd one over the goal.
Game was settled when the ref called a PK for USF with 12 seconds left. I was watching on my phone so it was hard to see if he was right, but I'm inclined to say he wasn't. He let both teams play very physically all night and there were some very questionable non-foul calls after really aggressive and hard contact. This play seemed to have a little shoulder contact just inside the top of the box and the USF player went down. PK call. Two nights of TU soccer....two bad calls that end up costing the Golden Hurricane. (TU lost 2-1)