MACON, Ga. – The North Florida men's soccer team will wrap up its non-conference schedule on Monday night with a familiar foe, Mercer. The game will be the final tune-up for the Ospreys regular season finale Saturday night against Northern Kentucky.
Mercer bolted from the Atlantic Sun to join the Southern Conference after the 2013-14 academic year. The Bears were victims of the Ospreys' historic run to the A-Sun Conference Championship game last season. As the fifth seed, North Florida upset four-seeded Mercer, 1-0 in the opening round of last year's tournament. Monday's game can be followed via
Mercer Live Stats and fans can also follow @OspreyMSOC for in-game updates.
| Gameday Need to Know |
| Date | Monday, Nov. 3 |
| Time | 6:00 p.m. |
| Place | Bear Field |
| Opponent | Mercer |
| Live Stats | Mercer Live Stats |
| Live Video | n/a |
| Twitter | @OspreyMSOC (In-game Updates) |
Series History: The Ospreys are looking to make it three in a row against Mercer after a 2013 season sweep. The Ospreys pitched two, 1-0 shutouts last season after being outscored 5-0 the two meetings prior. The all-time series that dates back to 2005, is gridlocked at 5-5-1. North Florida has won two of the last three games in Macon.
Last Time Out: The visiting Ospreys will look to build off their 2-2 tie at Florida Gulf Coast last Friday. Senior
Diogo Quirino scored his second goal of his career to notch the game up at two in the 78th minute. Mercer has been a tough team at home this season, boasting a 6-1 record at Bear Field. Their last loss at home was on Aug. 31 to UAB.
Playoff Berth: Although dormant in Atlantic Sun play this weekend, the Ospreys clinched a berth into the conference tournament thanks to a 2-0, USC Upstate win over Jacksonville on Saturday night. It marks the second straight season the Ospreys have qualified for postseason play under Head Coach
Derek Marinatos. North Florida currently sits alone in fourth place with seven points and will look to improve its positioning in the regular season finale against Northern Kentucky on Saturday.
Well Rested: Monday night's game will be the first since Friday Oct. 24 when they fell to Florida Gulf Coast on the road. The nine-day layoff is the second week long stretch this season without a game. There were 10 days in between the Ospreys' 1-0 win over UCF and loss to Stetson in late September.
Scouting Mercer: In their first season of competition in the SoCon, Mercer clinched the Regular season championship on Saturday with a 8-2, conference record. Their only two conference losses were a pair of 2-1 setbacks against Wofford and Furman. The Bears have scored 31 goals this season which was the 16th most in the country going into Saturday's competition. The high-powered attack is led by Will Bagrou who has netted 11 goals in 2014 including six in the last four games.
| Team-by-Team Comparison |
| Mercer | North Florida |
| Record | 12-6 | 5-5-1 |
| Goals | 31 | 18 |
| Assists | 34 | 15 |
| Points | 96 | 51 |
| Goals Against | 18 | 22 |
| Saves | 78 | 34 |
| Shutouts | 9 | 3 |
