Women's Soccer Hosts Southeastern for Exhibition on Saturday Night

KICKOFF
The North Florida women's soccer team hosts Southeastern University in a preseason exhibition game at Hodges Stadium on Saturday night. Admission to the exhibition match is free.

GAME DAY CENTRAL
What: North Florida vs Southeastern
Where: Hodges Stadium (Jacksonville, Fla.)
When: Saturday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m.

UNF Top Returning Statistical Leaders
Matches Played: 8 players appeared in all 16 matches
Points: Thais Reiss (17), Kendra Hoffman (13)
Goals: Thais Reiss (6), Kendra Hoffman (5)
Assists: Thais Reiss (5), Julia Martin (4)

NOTABLE
- North Florida head coach Eric Faulconer will lead the program as head coach for the first time after serving two seasons as assistant and associate head coach
- Faulconer has a career head coaching record of 240-98-29
- This marks the 24th season of competition at UNF for women's soccer
- UNF was picked to finish 7th in the ASUN in the league's preseason coach's poll
- Ospreys return 9 starters from last season's squad that amassed a 7-8-1 overall mark
- The squad also brings back 9 of its top 10 point producers
- A newcomer class that includes some talented freshmen and a couple transfers look to pay early dividends
- North Florida opens the regular season with six consecutive matches on the road before hosting Air Force on Sept. 15 in the home opener
- The 2019 ledger includes a stretch of five straight home matches from the middle to end of September

SCOUTING REPORT
- Southeastern comes into Saturday's exhibition ranked No. 3 in the NAIA Preseason Coaches Top 25
- Led by Nigerian international forward Uchenna Kanu, who set a NAIA single-season goal scoring record with 57 in 2018 and was named 2018 United Soccer Coaches NAIA National Player of the Year
- Kanu represented her home nation at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in France, where she played in every match helping lead Nigeria through pool play and into the knockout stage

FAULCONER SPEAKS
"After about two weeks of training, we are excited to get on the field Saturday night to take on a very talented Southeastern University team. Head coach Randy Belli has done a remarkable job turning the program into a national power. We know we will have our hands full and it will be a strong test. Uchenna Kanu might be the best player we will face all season and they are very solid up and down the lineup. We have a lot of tough decisions to make in regard to our lineup headed into our first game versus Coastal Carolina. The coaching staff is looking forward to seeing who steps up against a very solid opponent and establishing our identity moving forward." -- Head coach Eric Faulconer

UP NEXT
North Florida kicks off the 2019 season in earnest on the road at Coastal Carolina (Conway, S.C.) on Aug. 22

Players Mentioned

Kendra Hoffman

Julia Martin

Thais Reiss