Box Score (PDF)DeLAND, Fla. – Three Stetson players each scored twice as the Hatters came away with a 6-0 victory over the North Florida men's soccer team. The Ospreys drop to 3-4 on the season and 0-1 in A-Sun play while the Hatters improve to 3-4-2 and 1-0 in league action.
Two goals in the first 15 minutes proved to be too much for the Ospreys to overcome. The Hatters tacked on four more scores in the second half in their best offensive game of the season. Stetson defender J.J. Bostic scored twice, moving into the conference lead in goals with five. He was credited with the game's first goal, just 4:23 into the contest. The quick start was capped before the Ospreys could even get a shot off a little over five minutes later on a goal by Stetson's Eli Beates.
The Ospreys, who played in their first game in 10 days, kicked into gear and created some opportunities late in the first half. Sophomore
Alex Morrell had one of the finer chances of the night when he had his shot get past Hatter goalkeeper Paul Ladwig but deflected away by a Stetson defender. It would be the first of two team saves for the Hatters on the night.
When the first half horn blew, the Hatters owned a 6-4 advantage in shots and each team earned four corner kick attempts. The Ospreys carried the positive momentum gained late in the first half into the opening minutes of the second half. North Florida attempted the first three shots of the frame but all were wide of the net.
The Hatters offense then came alive and rattled off four more goals to put the game out of reach. Lucas Diniz scored headed in his first goal of the season in the 66
th minute and then converted a penalty kick a little over eight minutes later to make the score 4-0. Diniz assisted Bostic's second goal of the night and Beates scored his second goal of the night in the 83
rd minute to make the score 6-0.
With the aforementioned two team saves, Ladwig had to make only three saves to earn the team's first shutout of the season. Despite the score, the Ospreys held a 14-13 overall advantage in shots but only five of the 13 landed on net.
The Hatters successfully avenged a 1-0 overtime loss in 2013. North Florida defeated Stetson for only the second time in the previous nine meetings with last year's win.
The Ospreys will return home and continue Atlantic Sun Conference play on Saturday in the River City Rumble against cross-town rival Jacksonville. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. at Hodges Stadium.
