JACKSONVILLE -- In a battle of preseason ASUN co-favorites, North Florida women's soccer overcame an early goal by Lipscomb to earn a hard fought 2-1 victory in double overtime at Hodges Stadium.
RECORDS
North Florida | 6-1-1 (1-0-0 ASUN)
Lipscomb | 5-3-1 (0-1-0 ASUN)
GOALS
14' LIP | Cami Rogers (Haley Williams)
81' UNF | Sydney Hauth (Kayla Bond)
109' UNF | Thais Reiss (Ariana Munoz)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- A sluggish opening half had the Ospreys on their heels as Lipscomb built a 4-1 shot advantage with all four attempts going on frame
- The Bisons struck first taking the 1-0 lead in the 14th minute when Haley Williams skipped a ball across the front of the goal and Cami Rogers connected from the back post for goal
- Lipscomb added a pair of shots on goal midway through the period that were shut down by Osprey netminder Mercedes Sapp
- Freshman Jersi Dadah made an aggressive run on a long service toward the box but had the ball kicked away late in the 36th minute
- North Florida began to force the tempo early in the second stanza and created a pair of scoring chances in the opening minutes with one turned away by the Lipscomb keeper and another shot just sailing over the crossbar
- UNF would eventually get the equalizer on a corner kick service from Kayla Bond that was left-foot volleyed by Sydney Hauth just in front of the Bisons goalie | It was the third of three consecutive corners for the Ospreys
- The Ospreys nearly ended the match in the second minute of the first overtime session but Lipscomb's goalkeeper made a pair of deflections on back-to-back shots attempts from Marissa House and Emma Voigt
- With just over a minute remaining in the final overtime period, Thais Reiss collected a loose ball off a blocked shot attempt from Ari Munoz, made a quick touch and then curled a shot just past the diving LU goalie to earn the victory
QUICK KICKS
- Ospreys extend their undefeated streak to six matches with the ASUN opening win
- North Florida finished the match with a 12-8 edge in shot attempts including a 5-1 advantage in the overtime sessions
- Sydney Hauth scored her first goal of the season and just the second of her career to tie the match in the final 10 minutes of regulation | Kayla Bond collected her team co-leading third assist of the season
- Thais Reiss tallied her team-high sixth goal of the season and fourth match winner | It marked her 39th career goal (ranking her T10th all-time in the ASUN) | It was her 18th career match-winning goal (moving her into 2nd all-time in the ASUN)
- Ariana Munoz picked up her team co-leading third assist on the decisive goal
- UNF held a 12-5 lead in corner kick attempts for the match
- Mercedes Sapp posted four saves in earning her 6th win of the year
- The Ospreys saw 23 players appear in the match
- North Florida is 3-0 in ASUN openers under head coach Eric Faulconer
- With the win, Ospreys remain undefeated (4-0) at home this year and have won seven straight at Hodges Stadium
UP NEXT
North Florida concludes its ASUN home weekend on Sunday, hosting league newcomer Central Arkansas at 1 p.m.
FAULCONER TALE
"We beat a very good team tonight. We haven't trailed in a game this season and our players responded. I am so happy for Sydney Hauth. She missed all of the spring with a knee injury and her hard work to get back for this fall paid off. For her to get the game tying goal will do a lot for her moving forward. I thought after a lackluster first half, we were able to make a few adjustments to our shape and I felt like we took over the run of play in the second half and overtime. Our bench made a great contribution tonight. Thais (Reiss) came through with another game winner. She kept grinding and was able to finish in a big moment." - Head coach Eric Faulconer
