USF women’s soccer now owns the number one spot in the AAC, defeating the previous top team, Rice, on Thursday night with a score of 2-1.

The Bulls (6-1-2) entered the match ranked fifth in the conference, tying in their first AAC game against Charlotte on Sept.12.

The Owls claimed the night’s first goal, courtesy of graduate midfielder Leah Chancey at the 4:35 mark to go up 1-0. Chancey entered the match as Rice’s leading scorer on the season with 12 points and five goals.

A little over three minutes later at the 7:48 mark, the Bulls tied up the match on a goal by sophomore midfielder Micahela Hill, assisted by graduate forward Sarah Brunner. 

The scoring play started with a pass to Brunner from Hill, who returned the favor to her teammate leading to the score. Hill remarked on the chemistry between her and Brunner on the scoring play.

“We always run through plays and combinations that we can do to get inside the box,” said Hill. “So that was an easy finish, it’s something we work on almost every practice.” 

South Florida would go on to extend the lead after a goal from junior midfielder Sadie Sider-Echenberg. 

Rice’s graduate goalkeeper Faith Hutchins managed to get a hand on the ball, but couldn’t complete the save as the Bulls took the 2-1 lead.

USF would attempt eight more shots in the period, but could not find the net as the score remained the same going into half.

Related: USF women’s soccer saw a historic scoring surge to begin season

Period two turned out to be a defensive showdown, as both sides went scoreless for the remainder of the game. 

The Owls were able to apply pressure in the waning minutes of the game, but could not find the net to tie the match. 

Although the Bulls were able to pull out the win, USF coach Chris Brown emphasized the importance of closing games.

“We need to be better about killing that last four or five minutes,” said Brown. “And we will be going forward. We’ll work on that”.

The Bulls will continue conference play Thursday when they take on FAU in Boca Raton. The teams last met on Oct. 31 last season, resulting in a 1-0 Owls win.

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