FORT MYERS, Fla. – The last time the North Florida men's soccer team played at Florida Gulf Coast University they were playing for the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. On Friday night the Ospreys will return to take on first place, FGCU in a rematch of last year's A-Sun Tournament Semifinals.
Upset victories over Mercer and FGCU propelled the Ospreys into the program's first ever conference championship game. Friday night will prove to be equally as important as North Florida and FGCU try to clinch playoff berths and jockey for postseason positioning. The game will be broadcasted live on
ASun.TV and can be followed via live stats
HERE. Osprey fans can join the conversation on Twitter by following
@OspreyMSOC .
Series History: North Florida snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Eagles with its 2-1, playoff victory last November. The fifth-seeded Ospreys upended the top-seed and two-time defending champions to advance to the program's first ever league title game. The North Florida offense posted the first two goals of the contest and held on despite a late goal in the 84th minute by FGCU. In the previous seven meetings the Ospreys had only scored three times on the Eagles.
Regional Rankings: The
NSCAA Southeast regional rankings include three Atlantic Sun teams, Lipscomb (7th), Stetson (9th) and North Florida (10th). The Ospreys have been ranked in the region in all but one week in 2014 and have been ranked as high as fifth back on September 2nd.
Playoff Implications: Both teams can clinch a berth in the Atlantic Sun playoffs this weekend. The Ospreys can clinch with a win on Friday night and Florida Gulf Coast who has hosted the last two Atlantic Sun Championships, needs a win, tie or USC Upstate loss to clinch their third-straight berth.
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Courtesy of AtlanticSun.orgThe key to a North Florida Victory on Friday will be its ability to break down the Atlantic Sun's top defense. The Eagles currently boast a .72 goals against average and have posted a league-high five shutouts this season. In three conference games this season, the Eagles have been scored on only twice and pitched a shutout against Stetson on Oct. 4.
Goals at a Premium: FGCU has struggled to score goals this season and are ranked sixth in the league with 13. At home the Eagles are averaging under a goal per game and seven of their 13 games this season have been decided by one goal.
Goalkeeper Matchup: Friday night's contest will feature two of the top netminders in the Atlantic Sun. FGCU's Nathan Ingham has made all 13 starts in goal and leads the league in goals against average (0.72), save percentage (.821) and shutouts (5). North Florida junior
Kyle Nasta is ranked third in the league with a 1.40 goals against average. He has allowed one goal in the last 270 minutes of action.
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| Team-by-Team Comparison |
| FGCU | North Florida |
| Record | 5-5-3 (3-0 A-Sun) | 5-5 (2-2 A-Sun) |
| Goals | 13 | 16 |
| Assists | 9 | 14 |
| Points | 35 | 46 |
| Goals Against | 10 | 20 |
| Saves | 46 | 29 |
| Shutouts | 5 | 3 |
