Ospreys Host Final Two Home Matches

A-Sun Men's Soccer Partners with Coaches vs. Cancer (A-Sun Article)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida men's soccer team is set to host its final two home matches of the season. The Ospreys play host to Mercer on Thursday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m., and Campbell on Saturday, Oct. 23, at 5 p.m. Both matches will be played at Hodges Stadium with Thursday's match against the Bears supporting the Coaches vs. Cancer Foundation and Saturday's match against the Camels serving as “Senior Day.”

In association with National Cancer Awareness Month, the Atlantic Sun Conference men's soccer programs have partnered with the Coaches vs. Cancer Foundation. In the five A-Sun men's soccer contests played on Thursday and Friday, all players competing will be wearing pink armbands and tape, while the coaches will be showing support by wearing pink polo shirts on the sidelines.

Dick's Sporting Goods has joined with the A-Sun players and coaches to sponsor the event. In addition to the players and coaches participating in the event fans at the home sites of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida Gulf Coast, Belmont and Lipscomb are encouraged to make donations to the American Cancer Foundation before or during the game.

This is the first time all 10 Atlantic Sun teams have unified their efforts to one cause with the plan of having a Coaches vs. Cancer game be an annual event to increase awareness and monetary support each year for cancer.

North Florida returns to Jacksonville after splitting a pair of road matches. The Ospreys downed USC Upstate, 2-1, but were edged by East Tennessee State, 1-0. Over the weekend, the UNF defense shined allowing just a pair of goals in 180 minutes of action.

Junior goalkeeper Andrew Calise picked up his first victory of the season against the Spartans. Calise recorded five saves on the weekend and was assisted by solid defense which held opponents to just 16 shot attempts.

Offensively over the weekend, junior transfer Enrique Haeussler and senior captain Adam O'Neill each recoded a goal each. O'Neill's goal proved to be the match-winner against Upstate – his record-tying seventh match-winning goal in UNF history. Haesussler's goal was the second of his UNF career.

True freshman Ricky Lawrence registered the only assist on the weekend. He leads the team with three helpers on the year.

The weekend will have substantial implications in the Atlantic Sun Conference race. Florida Gulf Coast (6-0-0 A-Sun) is atop the Atlantic Sun standings but since FGCU is not eligible for A-Sun Tournament play during its NCAA reclassification period Stetson currently sits in first place (5-1-0 A-Sun) with 15 points. East Tennessee State is in second with 12 points, while Lipscomb is in third with nine points. UNF enters the weekend in eighth place in the conference standings with three points, but is just three points back of both Mercer and Campbell for fourth place. Jacksonville and Belmont are also in the middle with six points. Teams receive three points in the standings for a victory and one point for a tie.

Mercer enters the weekend 7-4-1 overall and 2-3-0 in the Atlantic Sun. The Bears received their first-ever regional ranking in program history on Monday afternoon when it appeared as the No. 10 team in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America South Regional Poll. Mercer took the place of Stetson as the No. 10 ranked team in the South Region after defeating the Hatters 1-0 at home on October 14.

UNF is 2-3-1 all-time against Mercer. Last season the Ospreys and Bears met twice on the season, splitting the two meetings. North Florida defeated Mercer 2-1 in Macon during the regular season, helping secure a fourth place finish in the A-Sun and a chance to host a first-round conference tournament match. UNF hosted the Bears in the first round of the A-Sun Tournament, falling to Mercer, 3-0.

Heading into the matches this weekend, Campbell is 4-5-4 overall with a 2-3-0 conference mark. The Camels square off against Jacksonville on Thursday night before facing the Ospreys on Saturday. Campbell enters the weekend after dropping a pair of conference matches to Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson.

The Ospreys are 2-3-0 against the Camels all-time. UNF has dropped the last two meetings between the two teams. North Florida is 1-1-0 all-time against Campbell at Hodges Stadium. UNF opened up the series with a 2-1 victory at home on Oct. 1, 2005. Last season, UNF fell to Campbell 3-1 in Buies Creek, N.C.

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