Women's Soccer | 9/19/2019 10:00:00 AM
KICKOFF - The North Florida women's soccer team continues its five match home stand this weekend with a pair of challenging match-ups at Hodges Stadium beginning Friday against Illinois State at 7 p.m. along with a Sunday clash versus Western Carolina at 1 p.m.
OSPREY FACTS
1. LOOKING BACK - The Ospreys made their long awaited home debut on Sept. 15 against Air Force. UNF struck early netting a pair of goals in a 60 second span of the opening 10 minutes. The Falcons rallied with a pair of late goals in the second half to force overtime and then notched the game winner with less than two minutes remaining in the first extra session.
Thais Reiss and
Leah Ferlin both tallied unassisted scores for the Ospreys
2. HIGH OCTANE OFFENSE - North Florida leads the ASUN and ranks 60th in the latest NCAA statistics averaging 2.14 goals per match |
Thais Reiss shares the ASUN lead for goals scored with seven this season, ranking 14th nationally |
Leah Ferlin also ranks among the ASUN's Top 10 with three goals | The Ospreys have scored two or more goals in five of seven matches this season
3. ON TARGET - UNF has been an efficient shooting squad this year with 55.1% of the shot attempts going on frame (54 of 98) | The Osprey's top six scorers all have SOG% of 50% or higher including
Leah Ferlin's team leading 64.3%
4. SERIES NOTES - Illinois State marks the second consecutive first-time opponent for the Ospreys who faced Air Force in the inaugural series meeting last weekend...UNF is currently 0-1-1 versus first-time foes this season (LaSalle & Air Force)
5. SCOUTING REPORT
- Illinois State (4-4-0) has won two straight and three of their last four matches heading into Friday's tilt | The Redbirds posted a 1-0 home win against Western Illinois on Sunday | Friday's contest marks ISU's first road match since Sept. 1 | Kate Del Fava has scored 9 goals this season and ranks second in the nation in scoring | Third-year head coach Brad Silvey owns a 22-23-4 overall record
- Carrying a three-match win streak into Sunday's contest following a 2-0 victory at UNC Asheville on Wednesday night | The Catamounts have also won four of their last five outings | Ten WCU players have tallied a goal this season led by four from Regan Ward | Head coach Chad Miller has amassed a 78-85-19 record in his 10 years at the helm of the program (172-141-29 all-time career)
FAULCONER TALES
"Our players and coaching staff walked away pretty disappointed from the result against Air Force on Sunday. We felt like we definitely let one slip away and it was not the result we wanted from our home opener. The good news is we get the chance to get right back on the field this weekend against two quality opponents, with the opportunity to put the last game behind us. Illinois State is a very good program. They have been to the NCAA tournament five of the last nine years. Kate Del Fava is second in the nation in goals and they have a host of good players around her. We know we are in for a challenge, but when we are at our best we can present a lot of problems for teams as well. Western Carolina is off to a strong start to the season with a 6-2 record. So definitely a tough weekend, but it will be good preparation for ASUN conference play starting next week." -- Head coach
Eric Faulconer
UP NEXT
North Florida concludes its current home stand with matches next weekend against South Carolina State (Sept. 26) and the ASUN league lifter versus Liberty (Sept. 29)
