Women’s Soccer Heads to Nashville for Weekend Matches

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The North Florida women's soccer team, off to its best Atlantic Sun Conference start since 2006, travels to Nashville, Tenn. this weekend as it faces off against Lipscomb and Belmont. The Ospreys begin play at Lipscomb Friday, Oct. 8 at 8 p.m. (ET) before taking to the pitch at Belmont Sunday, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m. (ET).

The Ospreys are coming off two shutout victories this past weekend over East Tennessee State (2-0) and USC Upstate (3-0). By blanking the two opponents, it marked the first time that North Florida shutout conference opponents in straight matches since 2005, while it was also the first time for two consecutive shutout wins since 2006.

With just four regular season A-Sun matches remaining, the Ospreys hold a record of 5-8 (4-2 A-Sun) and sit in second place in the conference standings, trailing Florida Gulf Coast and Jacksonville by one point. In all four conference victories, the women have blanked its opponent and are outscoring conference opponents, 8-3. Of the team's eight losses, North Florida dropped seven by just one goal.

Lipscomb is 4-9 (0-5 A-Sun) overall, losing its last five matches with its last win coming against the Citadel, 3-0, on Sept. 12. In the team's last two outings, the Lady Bison dropped a close match on the road to USC Upstate, 1-0, before falling to Campbell at home, 2-0.

Historically, the all-time series between the two schools is knotted at 2-2-1. The series began in 2005 when North Florida transitioned to Division 1 and joined the Atlantic Sun Conference. The teams have met once a year since.

The Ospreys have not defeated Lipscomb since a 1-0 victory in Nashville on Oct. 12, 2006. Lipscomb claimed the most recent contest, 1-0, in Jacksonville, Fla. on Oct. 23, 2009. In Nashville, North Florida has won once in 2006 and tied once in 2008, battling the Lady Bison to a 0-0 double-overtime draw.

For Sunday's match, Belmont is 3-8 (2-3 A-Sun) on the season, and has won two of its last three matches. In the team's last two outings, the Bruins defeated East Tennessee State on the road in double overtime, 3-2, before falling to Campbell, 1-0, at home.

Belmont leads the all-time series 3-1-1 between the two schools, defeating the Ospreys in the last three meetings. The series started in 2005 when North Florida transitioned to Division 1 and joined the Atlantic Sun Conference. The teams have met once a year since.

North Florida claimed its lone victory over the Bruins on Oct. 16, 2005 by a score of 1-0 in Jacksonville, Fla. Belmont was victorious in the most recent meeting, defeating the Ospreys, 2-0, on Oct. 25, 2009 in Jacksonville. North Florida has never defeated Belmont in Nashville, but fought to a double-overtime 1-1 draw in 2006, before losing 4-0 in 2008.

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 seven and four goals, respectively. In addition, sophomore forward Michele Larrinaga has also found the net twice this season.

Hopfensperger is the team leader in goals (7), points (14) and game-winning goals, owning three 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 and her third came more recently against East Tennessee State in a 2-0 win. The St. Augustine, Fla., native is also tied atop the conference leaderboard in goals and sits alone at the top in the goals per game category (0.54).

Lencina, team leader in shots (30) and shots on goal (15), last scored against USC Upstate to earn her second game winner of the year. The rookie also found the back of the net against Stetson on Sept. 17 to earn her first collegiate game-winning goal as the Ospreys claimed the win, 1-0. She was named Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week (Sept. 20) for her efforts.

Larrinaga scored her pair of goals on two shots in just three minutes and 19 seconds against Saint Mary's on Aug. 29. Larrinaga was also named the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week (Aug. 30) for her efforts.

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