University of North Florida
GEORGIA STATE
Ospreys rally past GSU, 2-1
8/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 31, 2007
ATLANTA, Ga. (Aug. 31, 2007) - The University of North Florida men's soccer team opened its 2007 season by rallying for a 2-1 win over homestanding Georgia State on Friday afternoon.
The Ospreys (1-0) fell behind 1-0 on a goal by GSU's Brian Forera just 13:46 into the match, but answered with a pair of quick strikes to take the lead and then settle into a defensive battle. Redshirt freshman Akil DeFreitas tied the game for UNF at the 18:08 mark on an assist from true freshman Adam O'Neill. O'Neill then pushed the game-winner into the net on a pass from Oscar Ortiz at 21:26 on the clock.
The squads settled into a stalemate from there, with each club each getting seven shots in the second half but failing to find the mark. Freshman Andrew Calise earned his first career start in goal for the Ospreys, tallying four saves.
UNF outshot the Panthers 16-12 and had nine shots on goal, compared to six for GSU. Georgia State (0-1) upset 12th-ranked Clemson in an exhibition match last week and was riding high coming in, a factor that made UNF head coach Ray Bunch even more proud of his squad's effort.
"It is always good to get off to a good start," Bunch said. "This team was feeling really good about itself coming into the game because of their win over Clemson last week. I was proud of our guys for battling back after falling behind and then showing a lot of character to play tough down the stretch. We need to learn to kill off games when we have the chance, but that will come. It gives us something to work as we move forward."
UNF returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to Missouri State for an 8 p.m. match.
