Ospreys gut out 2-1 win

Sunday, October 21

Jacksonville, Fla.

1:00 PM

University of North Florida

Presbyterian

Ryan Brennan scored a goal for the Ospreys on Sunday.

10/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

UNF gets past pesky Presbyterian at Hodges Stadium

Oct. 21, 2007

Box Score | Photo Gallery

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The University of North Florida men's soccer team struck early and held on late to upend pesky Presbyterian College 2-1 in a nonconference matchup at Hodges Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Ospreys (6-7-0) fell behind 1-0 in the early going but rallied with a pair of goals before halftime to take the lead. In the second half, Presbyterian (3-10-1) kept UNF on its heels but never could find the net on a rainy afternoon.

The game was part of the year-long UNF Athletics 25-Year Celebration and featured a halftime presentation involving former Osprey soccer greats Mark Romano, Mark Cagnassola, Nate Silva and Terry Peak. The current Ospreys did their part to send the former players home happy.

After Presbyterian's Brandon Tucker broke loose and tapped a shot past UNF keeper Andrew Calise to give the Blue Hose a 1-0 lead, the Ospreys answered with a pair of goals and a flurry of activity on the other end of the field. Ryan Brennan put back a close-range header that was missed by Akil Burgen to tie the game in the ninth minute. Shareef Rajkumar then banked a pass from Akil DeFreitas off the left post and just across the line to finish the scoring for the day and give UNF the advantage in the 23rd minute.

UNF outshot Presbyterian 17-13 and held an 11-5 advantage at halftime. Of UNF's 17 shots, 10 were on goal. In the second half, the Blue Hose kept their attack steady and outshot the Ospreys 8-6.

Calise tallied seven saves in a complete game in goal for UNF, while Mark Owens recorded eight saves and allowed both UNF goals for Presbyterian.

DeFreitas led UNF with five shots, while Adam O'Neill added four.

"I thought we worked very hard for this victory," UNF head coach Ray Bunch said. "We didn't play up to our potential, but we gutted it out. Presbyterian gave 150 percent, battled for every ball and kept their heads in it. We sort of hung on at the end. But that is a sign of a good team when you don't play well and still get a positive result. From that point of view I am very happy."

Cagnassola, Romano and Silva eached played during the early years of the UNF program and were on the school's first team in 1991. Peak played at UNF from 2001-05 and was a member of the school's first Division I team.

"It was a wonderful thing to see those guys come back with their families and to see how they have gotten on with their lives," Bunch said. "It gives you great satisfaction. For those older guys to come back and see what we have now, they didn't have the same resources back then. We have come a long way, and today was a nice way to honor their contributions to helping us get here."

Fans at the game were also treated to free concessions, courtesy of UNF supporter Tony Weight.

The Ospreys will close out Atlantic Sun Conference play next weekend when they travel to Nashville for a pair of matches. UNF faces off against Belmont on Friday at 8 p.m. ET and then faces Lipscomb on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. UNF plays its home finale on Oct. 30 against UCF.