MATCH NOTES: Ospreys Host Gators in First Meeting on the Pitch

KICKOFF - North Florida women's soccer kicks off their regular season ending three-match home stand by stepping out of ASUN competition for a match against the Florida Gators, Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Hodges Stadium. The match marks the first meeting between the two programs.

PITCH POINTS

- 7-0-0 (4-0-0 ASUN) start marks the program's best in the Division I Era (since 2005) | The 2000 squad opened the year with 13 straight victories for the school record
- North Florida's current seven-match win streak it the longest in the DI era and marks just the 5th time a UNF program has strung together 7 or more wins on the pitch in program history (Record is 13 in 2000 followed by 8 in 2001 and 7 twice in 2002)
- UNF is one of 23 team's in the country that are still undefeated or untied in 2020-21
- Wednesday's match is part off a span of five consecutive contests for Ospreys within the city limits to close out the regular season (4 matches at home | 1 match at JU)
- Ospreys extended their win streak to 7 matches following a 2-1 double OT win at Jacksonville last Saturday | Win marked the 5th straight for UNF vs JU
- In the win, junior Ari Munoz scored the match winner in the second overtime session | Marked her third goal and second match winning goal of the season
- Senior Thais Reiss netted her league leading 8th goal of the season to open the scoring for the Ospreys in the victory
- Reiss leads the ASUN in points (18) and goals (8) | She ranks second in shots with 30 and T2 for assists (2)
- Munoz ranks T6 for goals and points in the ASUN
- Goalkeeper Mercedes Sapp tops the ASUN in GAA (0.46) and Save% (84.2)
- Eight different Ospreys have scored this season with only Reiss and Munoz amassing multiple goals
- North Florida has produced a trio of ASUN Players of the Week already this season (Thais Reiss | Ari Munoz | Mercedes Sapp)
- North Florida leads the ASUN in goals (17)
- Ospreys have been ranked No. 4 in the South Region in each of the past three weeks
- Head coach Eric Faulconer's overall record stands at 258-104-31 in his 20th season. With UNF's 11 wins in 2019, Faulconer led teams have won 10+ matches in 17 consecutive seasons

- Last season the Ospreys matched the program's Division I era record at 11-6-2
- North Florida finished with 33 goals, ranking second in the ASUN a year ago
- UNF boasted the program record with a 1.11 GAA
- Ospreys were tabbed to finish 4th in the preseason ASUN poll
- Thais Reiss was picked the preseason ASUN Player of the Year
- All-ASUN Honors in 2019: Thais Reiss and Hollyn Knight (1st team) | Kendra Hoffman and Leah Ferlin (2nd team) | Devyn Encalada (All-Freshman)

SCOUTING REPORT
- UF SERIES: All-time record is 0-0-0 | Marks the first meeting between Ospreys and Gators | UNF is 0-2-0 vs SEC squads having faced Mississippi State twice
- Florida is 4-8-2 (1-6-1 SEC) this season having played competed in fall | UF is 2-1-1 this spring after suffering first loss at LSU (2-1) on Mar. 14
- Gators are 0-4-0 on the road this year
- UF has outscored foes 9-4 during spring competition
- Parker Roberts leads Florida with 5 goals and 5 assists | 12 Gators have scored a goal with 9 players tallying more than one this year
- Starting goalkeeper Susi Espinoza owns a 1.96 GAA and 25 saves in 13 matches (1152 minutes logged)
- Legendary head coach Becky Burleigh, the inaugural coach for the UF program, is in her 26th season at the Gator helm boasting a 429-137-39 mark | In her 30th season as a head coach, Burleigh has amasses a 511-160-45 mark and ranks 2nd All-Time in NCAA D1 soccer victories | Burleigh led Florida to the 1998 National Championship

FAULCONER TALES
"Our team is looking forward to the challenge of playing Florida at home on Wednesday. Florida has been a perennial power on the national stage since the inception of the program in the mid-1990s and we know we will have to play very well to get a result. For our program to go to new heights, we need to stretch ourselves against good opponents and this game will serve that purpose. Both programs have players from the Jacksonville area, so I think this match will also serve as a showcase of the strong soccer talent that comes out of this part of the state. Becky Burleigh has been a tremendous ambassador for our sport and has been very willing to share with not only me, but all coaches in the game, the ins and outs of her program over the years. We look forward to hosting her and her team in one of her last games before she retires at the end of the season."
-- Head coach Eric Faulconer

UP NEXT
North Florida continues its home stand and returns to ASUN play Sunday (Mar. 28) against Stetson at 6 p.m. in Hodges Stadium

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