JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida men’s soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to Georgia Southern on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at Hodges Stadium. The loss drops the Ospreys to 4-12-1, while the win improves the Eagles to 1-14-1.
“Hopefully, tonight’s match will be a wake up call that you can’t get anything without working hard,” head coach Ray Bunch said. “I thought Georgia Southern gave 120-percent and were totally deserving of the win. We have to regroup and focus for this Saturday. We were fortunate that no one got hurt, but we have to play better if we want to be successful this weekend.”
UNF will now focus on its quarterfinal round match of the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m., against Mercer at Hodges Stadium.
The match is $5 for adults and $3 for students (with valid ID), senior citizens (ages 65 and up) and children (ages 17 and under). The first 300 UNF students with a valid Osprey1 ID are FREE.
The Ospreys dominated the match against Georgia Southern in every category except on the scoreboard. UNF had a 20-to-7 advantage in shots, including an 8-to-5 edge in shots on goal. North Florida took seven corner kicks compared to just one by Georgia Southern.
The difference in the match came in the 62nd minute of the match. Georgia Southern’s Rich Heyer took a pass from Jon Cox and managed to sneak it past UNF’s goalkeeper. The goal proved to be the match-winning goal as the Ospreys were unable to match it.
North Florida had an opportunity late in the to tie the score, but junior Adam O’Neills free kick hit the side of the goal.
Six different UNF players recorded multiple shots. Senior David Pollard led the Ospreys with four shots, including two shots on goal. Senior Frank Dinzey and O’Neill each had three shots each.
At halftime of the match, North Florida honored its seniors, Dinzey, Matthew Hollyoak, Steven Lowenthal and Pollard. In addition, junior Jordan Allerding was recognized, as he is a senior academically and will forego his final season of eligibility.