GREENVILLE, S.C. – The North Florida men's soccer team fell for the second time in three days at the Gray Griffin Memorial Tournament hosted by Furman University. The College of Charleston (2-2) scored three, second-half goals to help top North Florida (2-2) by the score of 4-0.
"We started off the game slow and they came out and pounced on us," said Head Coach
Derek Marinatos. "Ultimately we were able to rebound with a lot of possession but not enough to create chances we needed to win the game."
Despite the slow start, the Cougars only took a 1-0 lead into halftime. Nico Rittmeyer was able to set the tone for the College of Charleston when he struck for his first goal of the game in the 12
th minute. Off a set piece, he was able to flick on a pass from Tucker Coons and give the Cougars an early, 1-0 lead.
The College of Charleston totaled eight shots in the first 45 minutes including five on goal. Freshman
Tord Pedersen was able to make a total of four saves in the first half alone, one shy of a game-high for the season.
The Cougars drew a penalty in the box that resulted in a red card for Osprey midfielder
Simen Solstad. The tackle in the box was ruled by from behind by the official in the box and Rittmeyer was able to convert the penalty kick for his second score of the afternoon.
A similar in-box penalty arose on the other side of the field less than eight minutes later. College of Charleston goalkeeper Brian Kilgallon made an aggressive tackle in a one-on-one situation that resulted in an Osprey penalty kick. Kilgallon however was only awarded a yellow card and North Florida was unable to convert the penalty kick.
With the momentum of a penalty kick save, the Cougars scored two more times in the final 26 minutes and took advantage of the extra man opportunity. Despite being a man down, the Ospreys out-shot the Cougars, 7-3 in the second half.
"We battled down a man and had our chances but were unable to capitalize," added Marinatos. "I was pleased with our possession in the final third of the game but bottom line is we need to convert chances."
At the conclusion of the weekend, Solstad,
Diogo Quirino and
Teddy Mulamba were named to the All-Tournament Team. It marked the second week in a row that Quirino was recognized, after earning Defensive MVP honors at the Mike Gibbs Memorial Tournament.
North Florida will continue its four-game stint away from Hodges Stadium on Saturday when they take on Georgia State in Atlanta.
