Different School, Same Tricks

This past Saturday, when USF opened Big East play at the Carrier Dome, I was a little nervous. Sure, it was Syracuse, who has been a cellar dweller in the Big East for a few years now, but the past two years USF has gone through the OOC schedule like gangbusters only to fall flat when conference play came around. So much as I'm trepidacious of the NFC championship game as an Eagles fan, the beginning of conference play caused a little anxiety for me as a Bulls fan.

We did, however, make it through the Cuse game. It remained a little close for comfort throughout the first half, but the Bulls pulled away in the second half. We're now 1-0 in conference and have a bye this week on our way to a Thursday night showdown with #8 Cincinnati.

UMBC, however, didn't fare quite so well. After starting the men's soccer season an unprecedented 9-0-0, they walked into Vermont, who at the time were a paltry 0-6-3. It was the Catamounts who walked out the victors, giving them a 1-0 conference record and starting the Dawgs off at 0-1. Here's hoping we don't go on a skid a la USF football the past two years. We get the first chance to redeem ourselves tomorrow night at home under the lights against Stony Brook.