High-Powered Attack of Elon Downs @OspreyMSOC

Sunday, September 6

Wilmington, N.C.

12:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

1-2-0

Elon

4-0-0

North Florida

Elon

9/6/2015 2:19:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Box Score (PDF)
WILMINGTON, N.C. – The Elon Phoenix (4-0) remained undefeated and overcame a late first half comeback effort by North Florida (1-3) in a 5-2 victory at the Courtyard by Marriott-Wrightsville Beach Classic hosted by UNC Wilmington.

A nightmare start for the Ospreys saw the Phoenix find the back of the net, three times in the first 24 minutes. North Florida freshman Gabriel Sousa and junior Simen Solstad each scored, powering a late, first half comeback but ultimately wasn't enough in the high-scoring affair.

"We've played two good teams this weekend (UNCW and Elon) and failed to make adjustments on the defensive side of the ball," said Head Coach Derek Marinatos. "No matter how you slice it, 10 goals in two games is unacceptable. We have no easy games on this schedule and can't afford to make the mistakes we made. We are not where we want to be right now and have a lot of work to do going into Wednesday."

After Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler broke the scoreless tie, Elon was the beneficiary of an own goal in the 15^th minute to make the score, 2-0. The third goal of the lightning fast start was scored by Caue Da Silva who finished the day with a goal and an assist.

Solstad got the Ospreys on the scoreboard with his first tally of the season in the 32nd minute off a free kick. A little over six minutes later, Sousa registered his first collegiate goal on a pass from Pedro Carneiro to make the score 3-2.

The Ospreys seemed to capture the momentum going into halftime but were unable to cash in on opportunities in the second. Perhaps the best chance to knot the score up came in the 57^th minute when Carneiro rung a shot off the post. For the game the Ospreys held a 15-11 shot advantage but only five of the 15 landed on net.

With the North Florida offense in attack mode over the final 10 minutes, Elon was able to take advantage of a two turnovers and increase the lead to 5-2. James Brace scored twice in two minutes both times off feeds from Jaiden Fortune.

The Ospreys will return to Hodges Stadium on Wednesday for an in-state battle with UCF. The Knights will make their first appearance in Jacksonville since 2012. The Ospreys look to continue their recent success against UCF after winning the last two meetings, 1-0.

For the latest news and updates on the UNF Men's Soccer Team, follow @OspreyMSOC on Twitter.