Second Half Goals Push Middle Tennessee Past Ospreys

Thursday, August 23

Jacksonville, Fla.

7:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

0-3-0

Middle Tennessee

2-1-0

Middle Tenn.

North Florida

8/23/2018 10:10:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

By: North Florida Athletics

MTSU vs UNF Final Boxscore

JACKSONVILLE -- In the 2018 home opener for the North Florida women's soccer team, Middle Tennessee capitalized on a pair of second half set pieces to earn a 2-0 win over the Ospreys at Hodges Stadium.

GOALS
71' - Sam Debien, MTSU (Hannah Tillett)
75' - Madeleine Schricker, MTSU (Hannah Tillett)

HOW IT HAPPENED
- The two squads battled to a 0-0 draw through the opening half of play with UNF holding a 7-6 advantage in shots for the frame
- Krista Colubiale had a quality chance in the 17th minute, blasting a shot from just inside the box that was saved by the MTSU keeper
- In the 25th minute, Lorena Cedeno put a head on a cross from Julia Martin that slid just wide of the goal
- Thais Reiss smacked a close range volley in the 29th minute but a diving stop from the Blue Raider netminder thwarted the chance
- The Ospreys opened with a flurry of shots in the first 10 minutes of the second half but were unable to find the back of the net
- MTSU nearly got on the board in the 53rd minute but Osprey keeper Rhiannon Conelley punched a scoring chance over the crossbar to keep the scoreboard clear
- The Blue Raiders netted the first tally of the night when Sam Debien finished a feed from Hannah Tillett in the 71st minute. Tillett took a pass back off a corner kick to set up the scoring pass
- Four minutes later, Tillett tracked down a long corner kick and slipped a cross in front of the net that found the foot of Madeleine Schricker for an insurance goal for Middle Tennessee

QUICK KICKS
- The Ospreys posted a season best 12 shot attempts including four on frame
- Freshman Kendra Hoffman led UNF with three shots in the contest
- Conelley faced a season high 15 shots and collected a season best 6 saves
- MTSU's Hannah Tillett tallied a pair of assists and also led all players with 4 shots on goal
- UNF falls to 0-3-0 on the year while MTSU moves to 2-1-0

CONFER COMMENTS
"I thought we were pretty good for 70 minutes. We had some good chances at the start of the second half but just couldn't put them away. Middle Tennessee was able to convert their chances off set pieces so that's frustrating. I thought some people played well and we definitely competed tonight so that was encouraging. We have to start being able to finish our chances when we have created them. I feel like our backs played tough against a dangerous front line. We just got be better in the final third. We have to regroup for our game Sunday against Asheville. It was nice to see the girls compete which was an improvement from last Sunday. We just need to continue building and go from there. " - Head coach Robin Confer

UP NEXT
The Ospreys continue their four-match home stand on Sunday, hosting UNC Asheville at 1 p.m.