JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In its first season being eligible for postseason play since moving to Division 1, the North Florida women's soccer team (7-8, 6-2 A-Sun) is just one win away from setting a school record for most Atlantic Sun Conference wins in a season. The Ospreys will face off against Campbell (3-6, 6-10-1 A-Sun) Saturday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. (ET) at Hodges Stadium with more than a conference win school record on the line.
North Florida needs at least a tie against Campbell to have a chance for its first A-Sun regular season championship, though it would be shared if the Ospreys could just tie Campbell. Currently, the Ospreys are in second in league play, four points behind conference leader Jacksonville. North Florida could win the regular season title outright if the squad defeats both Campbell and Jacksonville. The cross-town rivals will meet at Hodges Stadium on Oct. 22 to possibly decide the regular season champions as well as the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
The Ospreys are in the midst of a four-game win streak – it's longest of the year and currently the third longest in the conference. The squad is also just one win away from setting a school record for consecutive A-Sun victories. North Florida defeated Lipscomb and Belmont on the road this past weekend, both by scores of 2-1 with the Belmont match ending in double overtime.
In North Florida's six league victories, the women have blanked its opponent four times and are outscoring conference foes, 12-5. Of the team's eight losses, North Florida dropped seven by just one goal.
Campbell has lost three straight and six of its last eight matches with its last win coming against Lipscomb, 2-0, on Oct. 2. In the team's last two outings, the Camels dropped a 2-0 decision on the road to Jacksonville and a close match at home against Mercer, 2-1.
Historically, the all-time series between the two schools is knotted at 2-2-1. The series began in 2005 when North Florida transitioned to Division 1 and joined the Atlantic Sun Conference. The teams have met once a year since.
The Ospreys last defeated Campbell in a 2-1 decision in Buies Creek, N.C. on Oct. 20, 2007. The most recent match (Oct. 17, 2009) ended in a double overtime draw, 1-1. Lipscomb claimed the most recent contest in Jacksonville, Fla., 2-1 in overtime, on Oct. 18, 2008. North Florida won the only other match in Jacksonville on Oct. 7, 2006 by a score of 3-2.
Offensively, the Ospreys have had eight different players score goals on the year, led by freshmen forwards Lauren Hopfensperger and Carolina Lencina who have netted eight and five goals, respectively. In addition, sophomore forward Michele Larrinaga has also found the net three times this season.
Hopfensperger is the team leader in goals (8), points (16) and game-winning goals, owning four of the clutch shots. She garnered the first game winner of her collegiate career against Francis Marion (4-3) on Sept. 10, her second against Mercer (1-0) on Sept. 24 with her third and fourth coming more recently against East Tennessee State (2-0) and Lipscomb (2-1) on Oct. 1 and Oct. 8, respectively.
In addition, the St. Augustine, Fla., native leads the A-Sun conference in several categories, including the most goals in all games (conference and out of conference), goals per game (0.53), game-winning goals (4) and average gamewinners per game (0.27). In conference play, Hopfensperger is atop the leaderboard in most goals (6), goals per game (0.75), game-winning goals (3) and points (12).
Lencina, team leader in shots (36) and shots on goal (19), last scored against Lipscomb in a 2-1 victory. The rookie earned her second gamewinner of the year against USC Upstate on Oct. 3. Her first collegiate game-winning goal came on Sept. 17, finding the back of the net against Stetson and helping the Ospreys to a 1-0 win. She was named Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week (Sept. 20) for her efforts.
Larrinaga ended an 11-game personal scoring drought on Oct. 10 against Belmont, scoring a much needed second half goal to send the Ospreys to an eventual 2-1 double overtime victory. She scored a pair of goals on two shots in just three minutes and 19 seconds against Saint Mary's on Aug. 29, earning Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week honors (Aug. 30) for her efforts.
