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University of North Florida Athletics

ASUN Champions
4
Winner North Florida UNF (9-3-2, 5-0-1 ASUN)
0
USC Upstate UPST (3-10, 1-5 ASUN)
Winner
North Florida UNF
(9-3-2, 5-0-1 ASUN)
4
Final
0
USC Upstate UPST
(3-10, 1-5 ASUN)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
North Florida UNF 2 2 4
USC Upstate UPST 0 0 0

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Scott Fitzgerald, Athletic Communications

BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS! Men’s Soccer Clinches Regular Season Title

Box Score (PDF)
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – No. 22 North Florida (9-3-2, 4-0-1 ASUN) clinched its second-straight ASUN Regular Season Championship, the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ASUN Tournament and home field advantage throughout the ASUN postseason after a 4-0 win over USC Upstate (3-10, 1-5 ASUN)

Goals
6' – UNF: Adrian Nunez (Assist: Josh Castellanos)
26' – UNF: Adrian Nunez (Assist: Cormac Begley)
76' – UNF: Milan Kovacs (Assist: Adrian Nunez)
80' – UNF: Adrian Nunez (Assist: Mikey Connell)

Match Summary
The Ospreys took an early lead on the Spartans and never relinquished it. North Florida found the back of the net in just the sixth minute of action when Josh Castellanos played a perfect through ball to create a breakaway opportunity for Adrian Nunez. The freshman forward beat the keeper to the lower left corner of the net to give the Ospreys a 1-0 lead.

North Florida opened up a two-score advantage on the second goal of the night from Nunez in the 26th minute. Classmate Cormac Begley made a perfect cross to the backside of the net where Nunez was there waiting. The goal moved him into a tie for the team lead with five goals on the year.

Over the final 45 minutes the Ospreys did a masterful job of possessing the ball and were aided by a USC Upstate red card in the 62nd minute. The possessive play by North Florida ultimately led to the third and fourth Osprey goals. Milan Kovacs scored his team-best, sixth of the season and Nunez was able to get his third of the night off a pass from Mikey Connell. 

The hat trick by Nunez is only the second since 2005 and his seven-point night ties a D-1 era single-game record for points in a game.

Goalkeeper Juanes Fajardo helped seal the Ospreys fourth shutout of the year and made three saves on the night.

Additional Game Notes
-The Ospreys owned a 12-5 shot advantage for the game.
-Andrey Rosales had his PK attempt saved in the 62nd minute. The foul was on the starting GK Santiago Restrepo who was issued a red card. The substitute goalkeeper in his first game action of the season turned away Rosales's shot to the left side.
-Marks the second-straight season the Ospreys have gone through their ASUN schedule with an unblemished. North Florida hasn't lost an ASUN regular season game since Nov. 3 2014.
-The Ospreys are now unbeaten in their last five games, the longest in the program's D-1 era and the longest stretch since eight-straight in 1999.
-Saturday was the 22nd game against USC Upstate, the most against any Osprey opponent.
-The five conference wins tie the school record set in 1998 (5-2), 1999 (5-1-1) and 2007 (5-4)
 
From Coach Marinatos
"All the credit goes to the staff and players. We had a short week and not a lot of time to prepare but I thought we played a great game on both sides of the ball. This was one of our goals from the beginning of the year to win it outright and we did. It's a great feeling for sure but we are still hungry."
 
Up Next: For the second-straight year, the Ospreys will be hosting an A-Sun Semifinal match. The Ospreys will play on Sunday Nov. 6 with a opponent to be determined. The quarterfinal match will also be at Hodges Stadium and scheduled for Friday night. Game times have yet to be announced.
 
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