Box Score (PDF)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – History was made at Hodges Stadium on Saturday night as the North Florida men's soccer team defeated USC Upstate, 7-0 in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship game. The Ospreys (10-6-1) earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA College Cup for the first time in program's 25-year existence.
 
The Ospreys took a comfortable 2-0 lead into the halftime break before erupting for four goals in the first 10:29 of the second half and the game's final goal in the 87^th minute. Senior Helge Pietschmann scored three of the goals and became the first player ever to record a hat trick in the A-Sun Title game.
 
"We couldn't have written a better script, to have this happen tonight, the way we played, everything seemed to fall into place," said Head Coach Derek Marinatos, the 2015 Atlantic Sun co-Coach of the Year. "For Helge to come off the bench and have a hat trick was unbelievable, but a credit to our whole team, we were able to play everyone tonight. I'm speechless, I'm so excited."
 
It was a record-setting night for the Ospreys who registered nine team assists, a new program single game record. Three of those dishes came off the foot of senior Alex Morrell who became the first Osprey since 2001 to be credited with three assists in a game. The seven goals are the most ever in a single game in the program's Division I era.
 
Goalkeepers Kyle Nasta, Juanes Fajardo, Tord Pedersen and the rest Osprey defense combined for their fifth shutout of the season for North Florida. Nasta in his final game at Hodges Stadium made just one save and was credited with his 10^th win of the season. Center back Casey Caronis also contributed on offense on the Ospreys' third goal, tallying only his second career assist.
 
The two second half goals were setup to perfection and afforded the Ospreys to put the pressure on offensively in the final 45 minutes. Working off a short corner kick, Morrell lofted a pass into the middle of the box that was headed to the back post by Josh Castellanos on to Aidan D'Mello for the game's first goal. Just before the half, senior Camilo Garcia headed in a one-touch pass from Milan Kovacs to put the Ospreys up 2-0.
 
After play resumed in the second half it turned into the Pietschmann show as he scored three goals in a six-minute span. With the program's first ever hat trick in the D-1 era to go along with the game-winner in the 109^th minute of the A-Sun Semifinals, the senior was the clear-cut, Tournament Most Valuable Player.
 
The amazing four-goal run was capped by freshman Ivan Castro in the 56^th minute, his second goal of the season. Classmate Shane Nicholson got in on the action, scoring his first collegiate goal in the 87^th minute.
 
Joining Pietschmann on the All-Tournament team was defender Jay Bolt, Caronis, Castro and Morrell. Three players from the Spartans also were listed on the team, including the nation's leading scorer Gordon Wild. The Spartans fought through two overtime games in this year's tournament and upset top-seeded FGCU last weekend.
 
"A credit to Upstate, they had an incredible run trust me we know the feeling being where they were the past two years," added Marinatos.
 
The Ospreys will await their opponent in the NCAA College Cup First Round which will take place on Thursday Nov. 19. The official NCAA College Cup selection show will air live on Monday Nov. 16 at 1:00 p.m. on NCAA.com.

2015 Men's Soccer All-Tournament Team
- Helge Pietschmann, UNF - Tournament MVP
- Jay Bolt, UNF
- Casey Caronis, UNF
- Ivan Castro, UNF
- Alex Morrell, UNF
- Tucker Beerman, USC Upstate
- Leon Schwarzer, USC Upstate
- Gordon Wild, USC Upstate
- Albert Ruiz, FGCU
- Rodrigo Saravia, FGCU
- Matt Kerridge, Lipscomb