JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament implications on the line, the North Florida women's soccer team will take on crosstown rival Jacksonville in both school's regular season finale and the Ospreys' “Senior Night” Friday, Oct. 22 at Hodges Stadium. The two teams are slated to kickoff at 7 p.m.
Depending on the results of Friday's match and the match between Mercer and Kennesaw State in Kennesaw, Ga. on Saturday, Oct. 23, North Florida can potentially lockdown the No. 2 A-Sun tournament seed and clinch a first-round bye. To earn the No. 2 seed and first-round bye, the Ospreys need a UNF win and Mercer/KSU tie, OR a UNF win, KSU win and Mercer loss, OR a UNF win, Mercer win and KSU loss, OR a UNF tie and Mercer-KSU tie.
A North Florida loss to Jacksonville, regardless of the Mercer/Kennesaw State outcome will earn the Ospreys the No. 3 seed and will host the No. 6 seed in a first-round match on Oct. 30. Jacksonville has already clinched the No. 1 seed and will host the semifinals and finals on Nov. 4 and Nov. 6, respectively.
Overall, the Ospreys are 7-9 (6-3 A-Sun), winning five of its last seven matches and dropping all but one match by just one goal this season. North Florida has put together its best season in school history in A-Sun Conference play since 2007, blanking four of its nine opponents in six wins and falling three times by just one goal. In its first season being eligible for postseason play since moving to Division 1, the Ospreys are just one win away from setting a school record for most Atlantic Sun Conference wins in a season.
Jacksonville is 11-4-2 (7-1-1 A-Sun) on the year, and has is currently amidst a five-match winning streak, dropping its opponents by a combined score of 15-1 in those games. The Ospreys defense will look to slow down Jacksonville's scoring, which is the conference's most potent offense (33 goals in all games; 17 in conference play). North Florida has allowed just eight goals in six matches at Hodges Stadium this year and has shutout three of its five conference opponents at home.
Historically, Jacksonville holds a 5-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools. The squads met in each of the first three years of the existence of the North Florida women's soccer team (1996-98) with the Ospreys claiming the inaugural match, 2-1, at home. The series had a seven-year hiatus when the rivals didn't meet again until 2005 when North Florida transitioned to Division 1 and joined the Atlantic Sun Conference. The teams have met once a year since.
The Ospreys last defeated the Dolphins in a 2-1 decision at home on Oct. 31, 2007. The most recent match (Oct. 19, 2009) ended with Jacksonville claiming a 1-0 victory. The only other time North Florida beat its rival was Sept. 22, 2006 at Jacksonville by a score of 3-1.
North Florida is outscoring conference foes, 14-8 overall and 9-5 at home. The Ospreys' defense is a credit to that as it has kept opponents from having many opportunities to score, allowing just three of 16 opponents this year to outshoot North Florida. Over the last 13 matches, North Florida has at least equaled its opponents in shots taken and outshot opponents in 10 of those 13.
Offensively, the Ospreys have had eight different players score goals on the year, led by freshmen forwards Lauren Hopfensperger and Carolina Lencina who have netted 10 and five goals, respectively. In addition, sophomore forward Michele Larrinaga has also found the net three times this season.
Hopfensperger is the team leader in goals (10), points (20) and game-winning goals, owning four of the clutch shots. She garnered the first game winner of her collegiate career against Francis Marion (4-3) on Sept. 10, her second against Mercer (1-0) on Sept. 24 with her third and fourth coming more recently against East Tennessee State (2-0) and Lipscomb (2-1) on Oct. 1 and Oct. 8, respectively.
In addition, the St. Augustine, Fla., native leads the A-Sun conference in several categories, including the most goals in all games with 10 (conference and out of conference), goals per game (0.62) and game-winning goals (4). In conference play, Hopfensperger is atop the leaderboard in most goals (8), goals per game (0.89), points (16) and points per game (1.78).
Lencina, team leader in shots (36) and shots on goal (19), last scored against Lipscomb in a 2-1 victory. Her first collegiate game-winning goal came on Sept. 17, finding the back of the net against Stetson and helping the Ospreys to a 1-0 win. She was named Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week (Sept. 20) for her efforts. The rookie earned her second gamewinner of the year against USC Upstate on Oct. 3.
Larrinaga ended an 11-game personal scoring drought on Oct. 10 against Belmont, scoring a much needed second half goal to send the Ospreys to an eventual 2-1 double overtime victory. She scored a pair of goals on two shots in just three minutes and 19 seconds against Saint Mary's on Aug. 29, earning Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week honors (Aug. 30) for her efforts.
