UNF, GSU battle to tie

Sept. 9, 2005

STATESBORO, Ga. - The University of North Florida men's soccer team captured its first lead of the 2005 season on Friday when Mark Sergio turned a Martin Pettersson pass into a 1-0 UNF lead in the 60th minute of the Ospreys showdown with Georgia Southern at Eagle Field in Statesboro, Ga., but the Ospreys were unable to hold onto the lead and two overtime periods later the match ended in a 1-1 tie.

For Sergio it was his first goal of the season.

The Eagles (1-1-1) evened things up in the 69th minute of the play when Justin Elie snuck the ball past UNF goalkeeper Michael Frost to tie the game at one goal apiece. Jeff Cox tallied the assists on the play.

Frost led a strong defensive effort for UNF (0-2-1) recording 10 saves in 110 minutes in goal. Sergio and Pettersson led the charge offensively with three shots and two shots, respectively.

UNF head coach Ray Bunch was encouraged by his team's play.

"There was obvious improvement so that's nice," Bunch said. "You'd obviously like to get the win, especially after you get ahead like that, but I was encouraged with the way our guys battled."

UNF overcame a 21-9 shot deficit and the loss of forward Martin Schuhte, who was forced out of the game with a separated shoulder, to escape with the tie.

"Losing Martin hurt us," Bunch said. "He's a big part of what we try to do, but we still had our chances."

The Ospreys will get another chance at win No. 1 on Sept. 18 when they hit the road to take on Wofford. That match is set to begin at 6 p.m. ET.

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