University of North Florida
Kennesaw State
Women’s Soccer Conference Home Opener This Weekend
9/30/2009 12:09:21 PM | Women's Soccer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After opening Atlantic Sun Conference play on the road, the University of North Florida women's soccer team will play its first two home conference matches this weekend at Hodges Stadium.
The Ospreys (4-6-1, A-Sun 1-1) play Kennesaw State (4-4, A-Sun 2-1) on Friday, Oct. 2, at 5 p.m. and Mercer (4-5-1, 0-3 A-Sun) on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 2 p.m.
UNF captured its first league win last week, beating USC Upstate 4-1 on the road Sunday, but lost 1-0 in double overtime to East Tennessee State on Friday.
“We are going to have to play 90 minutes,” said head coach Linda Hamilton. “If we play our game and play with confidence we can compete with anyone. We have to take it one game at a time and come in excited to be at home. But make no mistake we are not taking them lightly, this is a very talented Kennesaw team and its going to take our best to beat them.”
Kennesaw State, who was picked to finish first in the A-Sun preseason poll, comes into Friday's matchup with a 1-0 loss to Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday. The Owls have three players tied for 10th in goals scored (3) in the A-Sun. UNF senior Katelin Swift (7) and freshman Michele Larrinaga (6) have the same amount of goals combined (13) as the entire Kennesaw team.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Owls' goalkeeper Staci Pugh has 46 saves on the season and their defense has only allowed 12 goals on the year.
In the A-Sun there are four teams with a 1-1 record and three teams who have not recorded a win in the conference. Among those teams is Mercer who was picked to finish second in the A-Sun preseason poll.
The Bears come to Jacksonville after losing two straight matches to FGCU and Stetson, allowing five goals on the weekend. The Bears all-time record against the Ospreys is 2-2.
UNF has allowed five goals in its last four matches and senior Rachael Howard has averaged 5.2 saves per game in her last five matches.
“The girls know that they are a talented team,” said Hamilton. “At the end of losses we know that we had chances to win. This team is not afraid to battle and lay it all out there. They play with a tremendous amount of heart and believe that they're better then they ever have been. Each game is another opportunity, and they have to put their best foot forward.”
The Ospreys swept their first conference home opener at Hodges Stadium last season and will look to continue their trend in 2009.
