JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Men's soccer edition of the River City Rumble will take place on Saturday night at Southern Oaks Stadium on the campus of Jacksonville University. The Ospreys will look to retain the Dennis Viollet Cup annually given to the game's winner.
Series History: The annual rivalry game produced the first Osprey win in five years last season. Then junior
Helge Pietschmann netted both two goals in a 2-0 victory at Hodges Stadium. The stifling North Florida defense did not surrender a shot on goal over the full 90 minutes of action. Three of the 17 games have gone to overtime with the only tie coming in 2013. The Dolphins have three, three-game winning streaks in the series the that began in 1994.
View From the Perch: North Florida will need to keep pace in its quest for the top seed in the upcoming Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. Currently the Ospreys trail FGCU by a three points with two conference games remaining. The Eagles wrap up league play this weekend against USC Upstate in Spartanburg. The Ospreys close their conference schedule next weekend with the same Spartan squad at Hodges Stadium.
Playoff Implications: A win for the Dolphins will guarantee them a spot in next month's tournament while a victory for the Ospreys will clinch a one of the top two seeds.
Top 10 List: Seniors
Alex Morrell and
Camilo Garcia each moved up on the Ospreys D-1 career points list last Saturday. Morrell took over sole possession of second place with 32 points after his team-leading fourth assist last Saturday while Garcia scored for the first time this season, his 16
th career point which is the ninth most in the program's D-1 era.
One Save Away: Senior
Kyle Nasta needs just one save to become the program's D-1 era leader in saves. He and former teammate Brad Sienkiewicz each have 138 career saves and both trail Heath Hardin who established the program's benchmark with 282 saves from 1992-95.
About JU: The Dolphins snapped an eight-game losing streak two weeks ago with a 3-1 victory over Stetson, their only conference win of the season. The Dolphins have also recorded wins over Detroit and Georgia State, both coming at Southern Oak Stadium. Jacksonville has 17 goals this season, five off the foot of sophomore Ejiroghene Mrabure. Dolphin goalkeeper Paul Harding has a .647 save percentage which is fifth amongst A-Sun netminders.
