#MSOC Posts 1-1 Draw with Rival Jacksonville

Wednesday, November 6

Jacksonville, Fla.

7:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

6-5-3, 2-3-2

Jacksonville

4-10-2, 2-4-1

OT 3

OT 4

North Florida

Jacksonville

Photo by: Sideline Sports/UNF Athletics

11/6/2013 10:19:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

Final Boxscore (pdf)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The North Florida men's soccer team extended their unbeaten streak to three matches Wednesday night after battling crosstown rival Jacksonville to a 1-1 double-overtime draw at Southern Oak Stadium.

With the tie, the Ospreys improve to 6-5-3 overall and 2-3-2 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The draw also snaps a three-match losing skid to the Dolphins and moves UNF a point closer to earning a spot in the upcoming A-Sun Tournament. In the River City Rumble competition, Jacksonville ends the fall sports season with a 3.5 to 2.5 lead.

Freshman Sylwester Szczesniewicz notched the Ospreys lone goal of the night in the 66th minute of play. He becomes the 11th different Osprey to net a goal this season. Defensively, goalkeeper Brad Sienkiewicz collected a pair of saves giving him 57 on the year.

After a scoreless opening half that saw just six shot attempts, the action picked up quickly in the second half in overtime as the squads combined for 16 shots.

The Ospreys struck first as Szczesniewicz gathered up a cross from Jake Frahm at the top of the box and touched the ball past a sliding defender before driving a low shot into the left side of the net. Jean Rivaroli nearly made it 2-0 when his bending free kick from 30 yards out hit the post in the 80th minute.

Jacksonville responded quickly following Rivaroli's near miss executing a well-designed give-and-go by Matheus Saroli and Nathan Dalton that allowed Nick Rodriguez a free run in the box. Dalton slipped a pass to an open Rodriguez, who was able to score the equalizer when is shot bounced in off the left post.

The two squads battled over the final 10 minutes of regulation and a pair of overtime sessions but were unable to find the back of the net for a winning score.

"One of our goals was to advance to the Atlantic Sun Tournament and with our one point for the tie tonight we did that," said UNF head coach Derek Marinatos. "I am disappointed we were not able to hold on for the victory and earn the three points, but I am excited and proud of the team for what they accomplished. We are looking forward to playing our final home match of the season on Saturday and hopefully continuing to play at a higher level heading into the postseason."

North Florida concludes its regular season schedule against regular season champion Florida Gulf Coast at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Hodges Stadium. The Ospreys will honor a trio of senior players prior to kickoff.