Lady Ospreys win home opener, 2-1

Sunday, September 12

Jacksonville, Fla.

2:00 PM

University of North Florida

Berry

2/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Sep. 12, 2004

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Sept. 12, 2004) - The University of North Florida women's soccer team played it forward Sunday, netting a win in its home opener with two scores by Lady Osprey forwards.

UNF (2-0-1) defeated Berry College 2-1 at the UNF Soccer Field to earn its second victory of the year.

Berry (4-1) came into the match ranked No. 6 in NAIA. The Lady Ospreys were coming off a two-week break, after their Sept. 3 match against Florida Tech was canceled due to Hurricane Frances.

"It's good to get a win when we hadn't played in such a long time," said UNF head coach Mike Munch.

Berry got the scoring started in the 14th minute, when a shot from junior midfielder Jenny Paterson slid past Lady Osprey keeper Haley Evans into the back of the net.

UNF responded at the 31:20 mark with a goal by sophomore forward Meagan Pearce. Pearce, assisted by junior defender Lauren Winn, beat the Lady Viking defense to land a shot past Berry goalie Nicole Heidler, tying the game at one apiece.

Another Lady Osprey forward, junior Ali Blochl, put what proved to be the game winner away with only 30 seconds remaining in the first half.

"We haven't been getting a lot of goals from our forwards," Munch said. "We don't have one dominant goal scorer so the fact that we can spread it around a bit is good."

Sophomore midfielder Judith Claessens assisted Blochl, passing her the ball from the left side of the field. Blochl received the ball at the left goalpost and turned too quick for Heidler, tapping it past her.

UNF starts a three-game road stretch next week, beginning at Munch's alma mater, Texas A&M Commerce, Sept. 17. The Lady Ospreys next see action at home Sept. 26 against Georgia College at 2 p.m.