University of North Florida
Georgia Southern
Men’s Soccer Opens Marinatos Era Against Georgia Southern
8/26/2011 2:48:00 PM | Men's Soccer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida men's soccer team is set to open the 2011 season at Hodges Stadium against Georgia Southern on Saturday, Aug. 27, at 7 p.m. The match will be the first official match of the Derek Marinatos Era.
Marinatos, the second head coach in North Florida history, comes to UNF following a four-year coaching stint at Furman University having most recently served as associate head coach. During his tenure, the Paladins compiled a 49-27-4 record and were the 2010 Southern Conference regular season champions.
The Ospreys enter their first match of the season coming off of a trio of losses. UNF were edged 1-0 by Flagler before dropping a 3-0 decision on the road to UNC Wilmington. North Florida found its offense against Rollins, scoring a pair of goals, but fell 5-2 in the final exhibition of the year.
Georgia Southern leads the all-time series between the two schools, 3-2-1. The Eagles have won the last two matches, claiming a pair of one-goal victories over the Ospreys in Jacksonville. The two teams have always played close matches with one tie and one goal determining the other five decisions.
The Ospreys return eight players to the team with several players seeing significant time last season. North Florida returns its leading point scorer from the 2010 team in Ricky Lawrence. In his rookie campaign, Lawrence led the team with three goals and three assists for a team-best nine points on the year. In addition, the Ospreys also return senior Enrique Haeussler and junior Greg Crowell who each netted a pair of goals apiece for four points in 2010. On offense, North Florida also returns sophomores Austin Doyle and Luis Daniel Camejo. On defense, UNF returns senior Julian Botella and sophomore Josh Ciambella, as well as sophomore goalkeeper John Davison.
Marinatos and his staff brought in 16 newcomers to the men's soccer team – two thirds of the roster. Newcomers Federico Bertele, Casey Caronis, Oscar Castillo, Aaron Conard, Pedro D'Avila, Josh Damm, Zach Friedel, Roberto Hinojosa, Ryan Husted, Nick May, Zack Meyer, Teddy Mulamba, Alek Slaveski, Mauricio Valderruten, Chris Yurkiewicz and Maxim Zoete will all compete for playing time during the season.
Single-game tickets for men's soccer matches are $5 for adults and $3 for youth 17-and-under, senior citizens 55-and-older, UNF faculty & staff and military with valid ID. Children 2-and-under and any current UNF student with a valid Osprey1 Card are admitted free. Student guest passes for those events are $3 and limited to one per student. Season tickets are also available. For more information on tickets to men's soccer matches and all North Florida sporting events, click here.
