LYNCHBURG, Va. - The Ospreys did something that they haven't done since knocking off No. 11/17 FGCU on the road Oct. 18, 2016. UNF erased a 2-0 deficit Saturday night at Osborne Field in Lynchburg, scoring three unanswered to defeat the Liberty Flames in the ASUN Opener, 3-2.
GOALS
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Liberty (3-4-1, 0-1-1 ASUN) got on the board just off the opening whistle, scoring 21 seconds into the match. The hosts played a long ball that just evaded a flick-on attempt by UNF, allowing for an initial Liberty shot that Philip D'Amico deflected. Mendoza benefited off the rebound though, chipping in the follow-up shot from just outside the box.
- Connell nearly tied it up in the 13th minute with a header on a cross, but Liberty's goaltender dove to redirect the attempt.
- Mendoza benefited once again, this time by way of the whistle. The midfielder was tripped up in the upper left corner of the box, warranting a penalty kick that he would capitalize on.
- UNF (2-7, 1-0 ASUN) executed a corner kick seamlessly moments later. Junior Jake Hawker hooked in the corner that sophomore Nick Burgess finished via a header in the box.
- LU had a flurry of opportunities to start the second half, but their chances dwindled as play settled into the middle of the field.
- UNF jumped on the impending counter to get the equalizer. Rookie Bryson Smith found sophomore Adam Everett with a cross on a breakaway, allowing Everett to beat the LU keeper.
- Momentum in hand, Connell delivered the game winner on a free kick from 35 yards out, tucking the decisive goal just under the crossbar.
- D'Amico made a pair of critical saves to maintain a tie and eventually preserve the late lead.
THOUGHTS FROM THE TOP
"To go down 2-0, comeback and score three straight on the road with all the adversity that we've had thus far, is big," said head coach
Derek Marinatos. "We are 1-0 in conference and obviously our focus is going to be to prepare for Lipscomb at home next week. We talked about coming away with a point tonight and we got three. It was a gritty performance from our group."
"Shane [Nicholson] was great tonight. He did a great job defending Mbuyu, as did Henrik [Welle]. And the big save was the breakaway save by Philip that kept it from being 3-3. We applied pressure against them and kept them pinned in. Once we negated the early goals, other than the chance they had late, we really played well."
QUICK KICKS
- Liberty's Tresor Mbuyu came into the match tied for the conference lead in points. The North Florida defense held him to just one shot on goal. D'Amico and defender Shane Nicholson contributed heavily to the effort, suppressing the goal scorer on the left side of the field.
- This is the first-ever meeting between these two teams and Liberty's first ASUN contest in Lynchburg.
- The goals scored by Burgess and Everett were their first tallies of the season.
- The Flames held the advantage in shots, shots on goal and corners, but D'Amico made four saves to just one for LU's James Knoebel.
- Connell, the reigning ASUN Player of the Week, now has 10 points over his last three matches. The junior has 14 points on the season.
UP NEXT
Men's soccer looks to get on a roll in conference with the first of two consecutive home matches when it hosts Lipscomb at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6.
