Men's Soccer Concludes A-Sun Season on Road

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida men's soccer team is set to play its final two conference matches on the road this weekend. The Ospreys open up the weekend with a match against Stetson on Friday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. before taking on No. 23 Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m.

North Florida enters the weekend with a 3-9-0 overall record and a 2-5-0 Atlantic Sun Conference record. The Ospreys are still in contention for a spot in the upcoming A-Sun Tournament. UNF has six points in the conference standings. Currently, only East Tennessee State (21 points) and Stetson (15 points) have secured spots in the tournament with the remaining four spots up for grabs. Of the remaining teams, Lipscomb is next on the list with 12 points, while Mercer, Jacksonville, Campbell and Belmont each have nine points. Teams receive three points for a victory and one point for a tie

Last weekend, North Florida split a pair of matches against Mercer and Campbell. The Ospreys recorded a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over the Bears on Thursday night before succumbing to the Camels, 1-0, on Saturday evening.

In Thursday's match, Theo Fulger launched a ball from halfway between the goalie box and midfield and the ball sailed past the Mercer defender, giving the Ospreys a 2-1 overtime victory over the Bears at Hodges Stadium. The “golden goal” was the first match-winning goal of the season for the junior defender. The overtime victory was the first win for North Florida in overtime since the Ospreys defeated East Tennessee State, 2-1, on Oct. 3, 2008, in Johnson City, Tenn. The last overtime victory for UNF at Hodges Stadium was a 3-2 victory over Gardner-Webb on Sept. 7, 2008.

On Saturday, junior keeper Andrew Calise recorded four saves on the night. He was aided by Patrik Lippe who kept the ball out of the net with a header over the crossbar for the final save of the night. Senior Adam O'Neill paced UNF with three shots on the night while freshmen Austin Doyle and Ricky Lawrence each registered two shots apiece. Doyle, O'Neill, along with Enrique Haeussler, Lippe and Calvin Lowe each recorded shot on goal on the night.

Stetson enters the weekend with an 8-5-1 overall record and a 5-2-0 conference mark. The Hatters have lost their last two matches and dropped three of its last four matches. Stetson fell to UCF, 2-0, on Tuesday night in Orlando. Prior to the match with the Knights, the Hatters were edged by Florida Gulf Coast 1-0 in double overtime. Stetson was upended by Mercer 1-0 on Oct. 16, but rebounded on Oct. 16 with a 3-1 victory over Campbell.

Highlighted by Senior Day ceremonies on Sunday, the FGCU men's soccer team, ranked No. 23 in this week's Soccer America Top 25 poll, will look to win the Atlantic Sun regular season title outright as it plays host to a pair of conference contests this weekend. The Eagles face off with Jacksonville on Friday, followed by the season finale against North Florida on Sunday. Tied with ETSU with 21 points in the standings, No. 23 FGCU needs just one more point to clinch the outright A-Sun title. A victory or draw in either of this weekend's contests would solidify sole of possession of the championship for the Eagles.

The Ospreys are 1-4-0 all-time against the Hatters. The two teams opened the series in 2005 and Stetson won four straight before North Florida claimed its first win in the series last season with a 2-0 victory at Hodges Stadium. UNF is 0-3-0 all-time against Florida Gulf Coast with only one match being played in Fort Myers.

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