JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A second-half surge fell short for the University of North Florida men’s soccer team on a cool, wet Friday, Halloween night, when Lipscomb visited Hodges Stadium and handed the Ospreys their third home loss of the season by way of a 3-1 outcome.
UNF (7-10-0, 3-5-0 A-Sun) struggled early in the match, taking just five shots in the first half, compared to 13 by the Lipscomb (9-7-2, 5-2-1). The Bisons struck first in the contest, going up 1-0 in the 31st minute when Angel Chairez found the back of the net. Osprey senior keeper Tony Restino managed just a fingertip on the ball, and the deflection was not significant enough to knock the ball away from the net.
A little more than seven minutes later, Lipscomb came on the attack again with Tony Garibaldi taking a shot from the left side of the box. A UNF defender blocked the shot and the ball ricocheted to the right side of the box and found an open Jeremy Reid, who placed the ball in the back of the net to give the Bisons a two-goal edge.
With 45 minutes to play and trailing 2-0, the Ospreys sprinted out in the second half and took control of the match. UNF outshot Lipscomb 7-4 in the second period, including a 3-1 advantage in the shot on goal margin.
Junior Frank Dinzey sprinted down the left half of the field toward the Bison goal at the 56 minute mark and found sophomore Adam O’Neill in the center. O’Neill took a shot from just inside the box that beat Lipscomb keeper Patrick Walsh to the right corner of the net. The goal was O’Neill’s team-best sixth of the season (tied with sophomore Akil DeFreitas), and the assist was Dinzey’s first point of the season.
While UNF continued to threaten and pressure the Lipscomb defense, the Bisons took advantage of an enormous opportunity to add an insurance goal with less than eight minutes remaining. On a Bison attack in the box, the offensive player was fouled, resulting in a penalty kick for Lipscomb.
Garrett McLaughlin took the kick, his first penalty try of the season, and converted it for his first goal on the year. The goal pushed the score to the mark where it would end, 3-1.
The Ospreys wrap up their A-Sun slate on their home field Sunday with a match against Belmont at 1 p.m. Next weekend, UNF caps the season by hosting Coastal Carolina at noon on Sat, Nov. 8.