JACKSONVILLE – North Florida men's soccer did not provide many opportunities for visiting USF, but the Bulls capitalized on a set piece late in the second half to take the game 1-0 in front of a record-setting crowd at Hodges Stadium.

Much in part to the attendance of the Florida Elite Soccer Academy, the stands at Hodges Stadium filled with 1,612 people - breaking the previous record set during the ASUN Championship game in 2015. 

"It was a great crowd tonight. Credit to Florida Elite - what a night," said head coach Marinatos. "They helped bring 1,600 fans. A lot of fans here, but unfortunately we couldn't bring home the win for Jacksonville."
 
GOALS
USF: 81' - Jonathan Rosales (Avionne Flanagan)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Though the stats showed that USF possessed the ball more in the opening frame, North Florida had quality opportunities to score.
- In the 17th minute, senior Jake Hawker took the ball inside the 18 and hit a shot at the goal, but the keeper made the save to end the threat. 
- Sophomore Nick Lodovico dribbled up the left side and fired a shot that was knocked over the crossbar by the USF keeper in the 44th minute.
- In the 34th minute, USF had a goal called back as the Bulls were flagged for offsides.
- As the first wound down, USF had its best chance when Gordon Phipps had a shot opportunity, but the Osprey defense buckled down. USF earned a corner kick, but could not come up with a result.
- North Florida came out strong in the first 15 minutes of the second, but USF took control for the remainder of the game.
- In the 81st minute, a Bulls shot was knocked over the crossbar by Padraic Gilley, giving the visitors a corner kick. USF executed the set piece as Jonathan Rosales headed it home for the 1-0 lead.

RECORDS
North Florida | 2-3-1
USF | 4-2

QUICK KICKS
- For the first time this season, North Florida was outshot.
- Lodovico led the way with two shots on the night.
- USF held a slight 6-5 edge in corner kicks.

FROM THE MOUTH OF MARINATOS
"We didn't give up a shot on goal in the first half and had the better of the second half for 15 minutes. We created a couple chances, just weren't sharp enough in front of goal. When we had opportunities to cross the ball in the box, we didn't do a good job of creating the right chance at the right time. I thought we had some clean looks in the second half to go up 1-0, and unfortunately we didn't make the right choice - it wasn't the right shot, it wasn't the right cross. Ultimately they took a well finished set-piece. We didn't give them a ton of chances. I thought Gilley had a couple big saves down the stretch.

"At the end of the day, when you play against a solid top 50 RPI team, you have to take your chances. It's going to come down to one goal and unfortunately USF got the goal tonight. I am proud of the way our guys battled and now we need to recover and regroup for a big match against FGCU on Saturday."

UP NEXT
The Ospreys head back into conference play as they host FGCU on Saturday at 7 p.m.