Men’s Soccer Emerges Victorious in Final Exhibition Match

Saturday, August 20

Jacksonville, Fla.

7:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

Mercer (Exh.)

8/20/2016 10:26:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: Scott Fitzgerald | Athletic Communications

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In the final tune-up before Friday night's season opener, North Florida took down former ASUN foe Mercer, 2-1 at Hodges Stadium. Junior Bayley Cashion scored the game-winner for the Ospreys who improve to 1-1 in the preseason.

Goals
UNF: Khalil Lavelanet (Assist – Adrian Nunez)
MER: Roberto Arteaga (Assist – Will Bagrou)
UNF: Bayley Cashion (Unassisted)

Summary: The game's format differed slightly from normal NCAA soccer game as the two teams agreed on three, 35-minute halves. All the scoring was done in the middle period beginning with Khalil Lavelanet's goal in the 58^th minute. He headed a deep cross from Adrian Nunez for the game's first goal. The Bears were able to notch the game at one on a short cross from Will Bagrou that Roberto Arteaga was able to finish.

The game-winner was all effort from Cashion who dispossessed a Mercer midfielder and took a long strike from well outside the box that beat Mercer goalkeeper JR DeRose high.

Key Moments
23' – Tord Pederson came off his line to make a sliding save in a 1v1 situation with Mercer forward Max Poore. The save was his second of the period and kept the Bears off the scoreboard.
89' – With time winding down in the second period and the scored tied at one, Cashion unleashed a rocket from well outside the box for the eventual game deciding goal.
Final Minute – The Ospreys held off one final charge by the Bears in the closing minutes of the third period. Mercer was awarded a corner kick but the Osprey defense was able to clear the ball out of the zone to preserve the victory.

Game Notes
-North Florida owned a 12-10 shot advantage and both teams took three corner kicks.
-Pedersen got the majority of work in goal and made three saves on the night. He allowed the lone Mercer score. Juanes Fajardo kept the game scoreless in his near 20 minutes of work, making two saves.
-The Bears were limited to just two shots in the final frame, one of which went on net. The Ospreys held the majority of the possession in the final 35 minutes.
-When both were members of the ASUN from 2005-2013, Mercer held a 5-6-1 advantage in the all-time series. The Ospreys won two of the last three meetings including a 1-0 victory in the 2013 ASUN Tournament.
-In 33 regular season games played, Cashion has only one career goal.

From Coach Marinatos
On getting the W:
"I'm happy we got a result, winning at home always feels good, regular season or preseason. As a whole we put together three solid periods and were able to work in a majority of our personnel."
On Second Period Play:
"We ironed out some things after first 35 and were able to turn up the pressure in the middle period. The spark no question came from guys on our bench.
On Closing it out:
" I liked our possession in the third period, we were able to lock down the game without some of our regulars on the field. We have some work to do before Friday but our focus now shifts to Winthrop."

Next Up
The Mike Gibbs Tournament will begin the North Florida season on Friday, Aug. 26 against Winthrop. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. The weekend will conclude on Sunday night when the Ospreys host UNC Greensboro at Hodges Stadium.