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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Three first half goals proved to be enough to vault the North Florida men's soccer team in the Atlantic Sun Championship game for the second time in as many seasons. The Ospreys upset top-seeded Lipscomb, 3-0 this evening at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex.
 
It marks the second-year in a row that the Ospreys eliminated the top seed after defeating Florida Gulf Coast in the semis in 2013. Tonight's victory sets up a rematch of last year's semifinal as FGCU topped Northern Kentucky, 2-0 earlier in the day. The Atlantic Sun Championship is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. EST on ESPN3.
 
Junior Drew Spragg kicked off the scoring with his fourth goal of the season in just the ninth minute of play. He received a pass from Jay Bolt, turned around and fired a shot past the Lipscomb keeper. With the assist, Bolt tallied his second assist and his fifth point in postseason play.
 
The Ospreys blew the game open in the 25^th minute, first on a missile off the foot of Milan Kovacs. He buried his second goal of the tournament in the upper right corner of the net from just outside the 18 yard line. The play was a result of a pretty sequence of passing between Spragg and Alex Morrell who were both credited with assists.
 
Just 44 seconds later the Ospreys drew a foul outside the box and were awarded a free kick. Junior Helge Pietschmann struck a right-footed blast over the wall of defenders and well out of reach of the Lipscomb keeper. The goal ties him for the team lead with seven on the season.
 
"We are scoring goals at the right time, to get three goals in our first four shots is incredible," said Head Coach Derek Marinatos. "We scored three fantastic goals this evening and to go up three goals in the first half, it put is in great position to win the game."
 
The North Florida defense did the rest led by Atlantic Sun Goalkeeper of the Year, Kyle Nasta. The junior netminder turned away seven Lipscomb chances and numerous plays on the ball to keep the Bisons off the scoreboard. He made a brilliant, diving save to his left on a Bisons free kick in the first half to preserve his new school-record, sixth shutout of the season.
 
"We did a lot of defending in the second half but what I'm most proud of is the guys who we called upon to seal the victory," added Marinatos. "Different guys are stepping up at the right time and you can't beat that right now."
 
The Ospreys defense has not yielded a goal in nearly 300 minutes of game action The Osprey offense has now scored 12 goals in three games, the most in a three-game span since the Ospreys scored 14 over a regular season stretch in 1999.

In just two seasons, Marinatos is now 4-1 in Atlantic Sun postseason play. The Ospreys will be seeking their first ever conference championship on Sunday and will have to do it against a second-seeded FGCU. The Ospreys tied the Eagles, 2-2 in Fort Myers on Oct. 24.