JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The North Florida women's soccer team is set to face off against the top two Atlantic Sun Conference teams this weekend as it heads up to Georgia. The Ospreys begin play at Mercer Friday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. before taking to the pitch at Kennesaw State Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Ospreys are coming off a narrow loss to Florida Gulf Coast, 2-1, on Sunday after claiming its conference opener against Stetson, 1-0, last Friday.
Early in conference play and a little over halfway through the season, the Ospreys hold a record of 2-7 (1-1 A-Sun). Despite playing consistent, solid defense, the women have dropped six of its seven losses by one goal this year.
Mercer is 3-5-1 (2-0 A-Sun) overall, winning its last two matches but dropping five of its past seven. In the team's last two outings, the Bears defeated Belmont in an overtime match, 1-0, before taking down Lipscomb in convincing fashion, 4-0.
Historically, North Florida holds a 3-2 advantage in the all-time series. The series began in 2005 when North Florida transitioned to Division 1 and joined the Atlantic Sun Conference. The teams have met each year since.
The Ospreys claimed the most recent contest by a score of 1-0. In Macon, North Florida has won two of the three matches, defeating Mercer in the first two meetings (2005 and 2006), 2-1, in each match. The only other match (2008) at Mercer was won by the Bears, shutting out the Ospreys, 3-0.
For Sunday's match, Kennesaw State is 5-3-1 (2-0 A-Sun) on the season, winning its last three contests by a combined score of 6-2. In the team's last two outings, the Owls defeated Lipscomb, 2-1, before blanking Belmont, 2-0.
The series between the two schools is led by Kennesaw State, defeating the Ospreys eight of the nine meetings. The series started in 2002 when both schools were members of the Division II Peach Belt Conference and the two have met each year since.
North Florida claimed its lone victory over the Owls on Nov. 16, 2002 on penalty kicks, 1-1 (PK, 5-4) in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional in Kennesaw, Ga. However, Kennesaw State has been victorious in the past seven meetings and holds a 4-1 series advantage at home against the Ospreys.
Offensively, the Ospreys have had eight different women score goals on the year, led by freshman forward Carolina Lencina who has found the back of the net on three occasions, including the game-winning goal against Stetson. Lencina was named A-Sun Player of the Week (Sept. 20) for her efforts.
In addition, freshman forward Lauren Hopfensperger has two goals this season, along with sophomore forward Michele Larrinaga. Larrinaga also earned the A-Sun Player of the Week (Aug. 30) accolade earlier in the season.
Head coach Linda Hamilton is in her fourth season at North Florida and owns a 25-52-7 career mark heading into this weekend's play. The Ospreys, who finished with a 5-11-3 mark in 2009, return 15 letterwinners, including five starters this season.
