Men’s Soccer Exhibition Marred by Tars

Monday, August 24

Jacksonville, Fla.

6 p.m.

University of North Florida

Rollins College (exhibition)

Adam O'Neill was one of four Ospreys with multiple shots on the night.

8/24/2009 8:37:16 PM | Men's Soccer

The UNF Ospreys fell 3-1 to Rollins in a home exhibition match on Monday night.

By: UNF Athletics

Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - University of North Florida men's soccer team opened up the first of two home exhibition matches on Monday night, but had their opener spoiled by Rollins, 3-1, at the UNF Soccer Practice Facility.

The two teams were knotted at 0-0 in the first half, before the two teams combined for four goals on 20 shots in the second half. The goalies combined four eight saves in the second period combined to just two in the first half.

“I thought Rollins stepped up their play in the final seven minutes of the first half, but despite the score, we controlled the play fairly well in the second half,” head coach Ray Bunch remarked after the match. “I think we tired towards the end. The last week of practice caught up to us. The match was good for us though. We got some guys some much needed match sharpness and match speed.”

The match, which was moved from Hodges Stadium due to field conditions, was physical with the two teams combining for 21 fouls and four yellow cards.

With the score tied 0-0, the Tars wasted little time in the second half netting a goal just over four minutes into the stanza. Rollins' Adam New took the ball at the top of the box and made a move around the Osprey defender. His shot found the bottom back corner of the net to give the visitors a 1-0 advantage.

The goal was the first of the exhibition season allowed by UNF, a scoreless streak that spanned nearly 140 minutes of match time.

Rollins netted another goal on a bit of misfortune by the Ospreys. Joris Combe took a shot that was saved by Beau. Combe collected the deflected ball and put it in for the second goal of the match.

North Florida battled back, cutting the deficit in half with a goal of their own. Adam O'Neill took a shot from the top of the box. His shot was saved by the RC goalie, but the ball was deflected to Peter Lauer. The freshman took the loose ball and put it in the back of the net to cut the Tars lead in half, 2-1.

UNF missed a crucial opportunity with just under three minutes remaining in the match. Senior Shareef Rajkumar took a cross and shot the ball past a diving goalie. The ball was inches wide from tying the match at two goals apiece.

The Tars took advantage of a fast break to add a final goal and set the final margin of victory for Rollins.

The two teams battled their way to a 0-0 tie at intermission. Rollins held a 6-to-3 edge on shots, but the Ospreys made their shots count, taking a pair of shots on goal.

North Florida went with sophomore Jullian Beau between the pipes. In the first half, Beau did not have to record a save as all six of the Tars shots were off the mark. Rollins College used a pair of goalies in the first stanza with each one recording a save.

The Ospreys will continue the exhibition season with a match against Middle Georgia on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at the UNF Soccer Practice Facility.