Men’s Soccer Falls to No. 18 UCF

Tuesday, November 2

Orlando, Fla.

1 p.m.

University of North Florida

#18 UCF

11/2/2010 3:42:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: UNF Athletics

Boxscore

ORLANDO, Fla. – The University of North Florida men's soccer team concluded the 2010 season with a 3-0 loss on the road against No. 18 UCF at the UCF Soccer Complex on Tuesday afternoon in Orlando, Fla.

With the loss, North Florida falls to 3-12-0 overall, while No. 18 UCF improves to 11-3-2 on the season.

Offensively, the Ospreys struggled to get anything going, registering just six shots on the afternoon with three shots on goal. Junior transfer Julian Botella led UNF with a pair of shots that were both on goal. Freshman Austin Doyle added a shot on goal, while junior Theo Fulger, sophomore Greg Crowell and freshman Ricky Lawrence each recorded shots.

Defensively, junior goalkeeper Andrew Calise took the loss for the Ospreys. Calise recorded four saves on the day, but allowed three goals in the loss.

UCF's A.J. Nelson scored what proved to be the match-winning goal and added an assist on another goal for three points in the match to lead all Knights. As a team, UCF scored three goals on seven shots on goal and 14 total shots.

The nationally ranked Knights wasted little time, scoring a goal in the seventh minute of the match. Nelson scored his fourth goal of the season. Nik Keown-Robson sent a ball deep down to Spencer Scott who crossed the ball to Nelson for the header at close range to go ahead 1-0.

UCF added a second goal in the 20th minute as Scott sent a ball down the line to Nelson. Nelson crossed the ball to Cameron Cooksey who finished off the scoring play with a shot at close range.

The score remained 2-0 over the final 25 minutes of the first half. The Ospreys kept the potent UCF offensive attack at bay in the second half until the 88th minute of the match. Eduardo Jimenez sent a ball through the UNF defense to Christian Eissele who finished with the goal, providing the final 3-0 margin of victory for the No. 18 Knights.

The match was the final collegiate match for a pair of UNF seniors – Sebastian Bianchi and Adam O'Neill.

Bianchi was a two-year letterwinner for the Ospreys, playing in 29 matches. He missed most of the 2009 season with an injury, but returned to the field this season to be a vital contributor. He was named 2009 All-Academic Atlantic Sun Conference. In his career, he recorded 22 shots, including eight shots on goal with one goal and one assist.

O'Neill served as team captain for the 2010 season. He was named All-Freshman Atlantic Sun Conference in 2007. In addition, he was named 2008 All-Atlantic Sun Conference, 2009 All-Atlantic Sun Conference and 2010 Preseason All-Atlantic Sun Conference. He finished his career ranked in the UNF career top 10 in matches played (1st – 69), matches started (3rd – 62), points (6th – 55), goals (5th – 24), match-winning goals (1st – 7), shots (2nd – 147) and shots on goal (1st – 69).