Men’s Soccer Takes Down No. 27 N.C. State on the Road

Sunday, September 4

Raleigh, N.C.

7:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

2-0-1

N.C. State

1-2-0

North Florida

North Carolina St.

9/4/2016 9:46:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: Scott Fitzgerald, Athletic Communications

Box Score (PDF)
RALEIGH, N.C. – Two second half goals including the game-winner from Joshua Castellanos in the 77^th minute powered North Florida (2-0-1) to a 3-2 victory over No. 27 N.C. State. The victory is the first over an ACC opponent in program history.

Goals
13' – Milan Kovacs (Assist- Adrian Nunez)
14' – Ade Taiwo (Assist- Lukas Zarges)
17' – Ade Taiwo (Assist- Simon Blotko)
49' – Adrian Nunez (Assist- Jay Bolt)
77' – Joshua Castellanos (Assist Jay Bolt)

Game Summary
The Ospreys struck first in the 13^th when Milan Kovacs finished a perfect cross from Adrian Nunez from close range. The Wolfpack, playing in the home opener on ACC Network Extra, didn't take long to respond. Just 17 seconds after the Kovacs goal, Ade Taiwo found the back of the net for the first of his two goals on the night. A little over four minutes later, Taiwo sent a left-footed laser off the right post and in to give N.C State a 2-1 advantage, a lead that would last the rest of the half. All three goals in the first half occurred within a three-minute, 55 second span.

GOOOAAALL @OspreyMSOC as Milan Kovacs scores his 3rd of year after Nunez finds him WIDE open in front of net pic.twitter.com/PQXt7l4rvB
— ASUN Soccer ? (@ASUNSoccer) September 4, 2016

Freshman Adrian Nunez, knotted the game up at two in the opening minutes of the half by heading a long Jay Bolt cross. Nunez finished the night with a goal and an assist.

GOOOALLL @OspreyMSOC!!! @Jay_Bolt_22 with a beautiful cross and @AdrianNunez96 scores his first collegiate goal! pic.twitter.com/hSlI30d6rJ
— ASUN Soccer ? (@ASUNSoccer) September 5, 2016

Bolt went on to setup the go-ahead score in the 77^th minute when he led Josh Castellanos on a breakaway chance. Castellanos settled the long distance pass and buried a shot into the lower left 90 for the eventual game-winner. Bolt finished with career assists number eight and nine. Only current MLS player Alex Morrell (2012-15) and Shareef Rajkumar (2005-09) have more career assists since 2009.

GOOOAAAALL @OspreyMSOC takes the lead again 3-2 as Josh Castellanos with a laser into the far corner. 13 mins left pic.twitter.com/LGibZDqNpN
— ASUN Soccer ? (@ASUNSoccer) September 5, 2016

Other Notes
-Four of the Ospreys eight shots went on net compared to three on net for the Wolfpack.
-North Florida won the corner battle, 3-1
-The lone save of the night was made by first half goalkeeper Tord Pedersen on close range shot with one minute remaining in the first half.
-Entering Sunday night's match, the Ospreys were 0-2 against ACC opponents. North Florida suffered a 2-1 loss to No. 2 North Carolina last season and lost to No. 2 Duke, 5-0 back in 2006.
-The two Wolfpack goals in the first half were the first allowed by the Ospreys in the first half this season.

From Coach Marinatos
On the historic win:
"This was a great win for our program against an ACC opponent. We felt confident going in and were more focused on getting a result against a quality opponent."

On the gameplay:
"We were finally able to execute a second half game plan and a credit to the guys on the field, they got it done. I was a little frustrated with our play in the first half, I thought we were impatient and played into their style. The second half we were able to create with a lot of possession and once we regained the lead we did a great job killing the clock."

Up Next: The Ospreys will be back at home to host in-state foe FIU (2-1-1) Friday night at 7:00 p.m. The contest will be the only home game in the month of September. After the match the Ospreys will begin a four-game road stint that starts at USF on Sept. 14.