MATCH NOTES: Ospreys Close Non-Conference Slate Sunday at Florida

Sunday, September 19

Gainesville, Fla.

6:00 p.m.

University of North Florida

Florida

MATCH NOTES: Ospreys Close Non-Conference Slate Sunday at Florida

9/18/2021 10:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

KICKOFF - Riding a four-match win streak, the North Florida women's soccer team closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule Sunday (Sept. 19) on the road against in-state foe Florida in Donald R. Dizney Stadium at 6 p.m.

MATCH DAY INFO

PITCH POINTS

North Florida improved to 5-1-0 after earning its fourth consecutive victory with a 2-1 home win over Charleston Southern on Sept. 10 | UNF got goals from Thais Reiss and Kayla Bond
The goal was Reiss team-leading fifth of the season and her 38th career goal scored, currently ranked 3rd-place all-time for goals scored in program history (2 shy of second) | She is also the program's DI Era leader | Total ranks T11th all-time in the ASUN
Reiss scored the match winner for the Ospreys in three of the last four contests and has netted a goal in four straight contests
Bond tallied her third goal of the season and second match winner | Only other multi-goal scorer for the Ospreys this year
Reiss assisted on Bond's decider and moved into a share of the top spot in the program's DI Era with 18 career helpers
Victory marked Ospreys 6th consecutive home win | UNF is 14-4-0 at Hodges Stadium under head coach Eric Faulconer
Sunday's meeting with the Gators marks the second consecutive year the two “Sunshine State” programs have played | Ospreys are 0-3 all-time versus SEC opponent (0-11 all-time vs Power 5 programs)
North Florida roster features 27 of 31 players hailing from the state of Florida
11 Ospreys are from or played their prep/club soccer in the “904” area code (Jacksonville, Northeast Florida) | Group includes Haynes Grant, Sydney Hauth, Emma Voigt, Ariana Munoz, Carmel Oliveira, Hannah Farmer, Lauren Weiss, Marissa House, Analiese Anderson, Kate Carter and Brielle Maloney
UNF was picked as co-favorite to win the ASUN this Fall along with Lipscomb
North Florida returns nine starters from their successful spring campaign and welcome 11 newcomers including several DI transfers
Thais Reiss and Mercedes Sapp were named the ASUN Preseason Player and Goalkeeper of the Year, respectively | Ariana Munoz was also named to the preseason All-Conference list
Reiss was selected for the Watch List of the MAC Hermann Trophy, presented to the National Player of the Year
Ospreys announced their Leadership Council for the season: Captains Thais Reiss & Zara Siassi | Lauren Weiss (Fresh rep) | Averi Walraven (Soph rep) | Sydney Hauth (Jr rep) | Kendra Hoffman (SR/Grad rep) | Ariana Munoz (SR/Grad rep)
HONOR ROLL - Sapp was named ASUN Defensive Player of the Week (8/24) | Reiss chosen ASUN Player of the Week (8/31)
RANKING NEWS - Ospreys move to #7 ranking in the latest United Soccer Coaches South Region poll after spending two weeks at #9 | Ospreys are the highest ranked ASUN program

SPRING REWIND

North Florida boasted an undefeated (6-0-0) record in ASUN play for the first time in program history and marked just the second time Ospreys have gone unblemished in conference play (2000: 5-0-0 in Peach Belt) | The Ospreys earned the ASUN South Division title
Going 10-2-0 during the spring season marked the second most wins in a season during the program's Division I era | UNF also amassed a double-digit win total for the second consecutive year after winning 11 contests in 2019
North Florida's seven-match win streak during the spring was the longest in the program's DI era and marked just the 5th time a UNF program has strung together 7 or more wins on the pitch (Record is 13 in 2000 followed by 8 in 2001 and 7 twice in 2002)
Ospreys had the ASUN Player of the Year (Thais Reiss), Goalkeeper of the Year (Mercedes Sapp) along with Ariana Munoz and Zara Siassi joining the duo on the First team All-ASUN list | Siassi and Haynes Grant were both named to the ASUN All-Freshman squad
Reiss led the ASUN in points (23), goals (9) and assists (5) | She ranked second in shots with 43 and topped the league with 7 multi-point matches
In the net, Sapp paced the ASUN in GAA (0.61) and wins (10) while listed second for Save% (78.8)
11 different Ospreys scored in the Spring with Reiss (9), Munoz (3), Oliveira (3) and Hoffman (3) amassing multiple goals scored
Ospreys were ranked No. 6 in the final United Soccer Coaches South Region poll (Spent six of eight weeks during the season in Top 5)

FAULCONER TALES
- Head coach Eric Faulconer's overall record stands at 266-107-31 in his 21st season | He owns a 26-9-2 mark in his third season leading the Ospreys | Faulconer-led team have reached double-digit victories in 18 consecutive seasons

SCOUTING REPORT

FLORIDA: Enters the match with a 1-5-2 mark following a 0-0 tie in double OT at Vanderbilt on Friday night
All-time Series Record: 0-1-0 | Last met on Mar. 24, 2021 in Jacksonville - Gators earned a 2-0 victory in the series debut getting a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes from Beata Olsson | Marked the last home loss for the Ospreys
Gators lone win of the season was a 1-0 decision over ASUN member FGCU on Sept. 5
UNF and UF have played one common opponent: USF | Both squads fell to the Bulls with Florida losing 2-1 and Ospreys falling 1-0 in double overtime
UF recorded a 6-8-3 mark last year
Kit Koferski has scored three of the Gators six goals this season
Goalkeeper Alexa Goldberg has secured 35 saves in seven matches this fall with a 2.30 GAA
Head coach Tony Amato is in his 1st season at Florida and owns a 216-107-32 all-time career record in his 19th collegiate season | FUN FACT: Amato and UNF head coach Eric Faulconer both grew up in Naples, Fla., and attended the same high school Barron Collier HS (at different times)

“I know our team is very excited to travel to Gainesville and the opportunity we have on Sunday. A majority of our players are from the state of Florida, and I am sure they are well aware of the historical success of the Florida Gator program. Last spring we played toe-to-toe with Florida for about 75 minutes, but faltered late in the match giving up two goals. We also know that some of the players that made a significant impact in that match are no longer there. If we are going to leave Gainesville with a win, we are going to need to turn in a complete performance. On paper this appears to be two evenly matched teams and the one that limits mistakes and finishes their chances will win.”

Head Coach Eric Faulconer