JACKSONVILLE -- A pair of goals in the opening 20 minutes proved the deciding factor as North Florida women's soccer earned a 3-1 home victory over Winthrop on Sunday to improve to 4-1 on the season.
RECORDS
North Florida | 4-1-0
Winthrop | 1-2-1
GOALS
UNF - 19' | Carmel Oliveira (Kayla Bond)
UNF - 20' | Thais Reiss
WIN - 58' | Alexandra Perez (Anna Kate Highsmith)
UNF - 78' | Hannah Farmer (Haynes Grant)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- North Florida dominated the possession in the early going creating several scoring chances
- The Ospreys finally found the back of the net in the 19th minute as Carmel Oliveira settled a looping cross from Kayla Bond, took a touch and then slipped her shot past a diving Winthrop keeper for the 1-0 lead
- Just over a minute later, Thais Reiss doubled the UNF lead when she corralled the rebound of her own shot and touched the ball into an open net
- UNF nearly made it 3-0 late in the opening half but a low driving shot from Haynes Grant was turned away at the last moment by another diving stop for the Eagles
- Things were back and forth at the start of the second stanza with both teams having opportunities to score
- Kate Carter nearly nodded in Osprey's third goal early in the second period on a corner kick service but the Winthrop keeper snagged it just before it got to the line
- Winthrop would trim the lead in half in the 58th minute on a goal by Alexandra Perez off a well served pass from Anna Kate Highsmith
- North Florida added an insurance tally in the 78th minute as Grant carried a ball into the right side of the box and then slotted a perfect pass across the goal to the a waiting Hannah Farmer at the back post for the easy one-time shot
QUICK KICKS
- Reiss has now scored in three staight contests and leads the team with four goals on the season | It marks her 37th career goal, moving her just three goals shy of 2nd all-time at UNF | Marks her 17th career match-winning score
- Carmel Oliveira notched her first goal of the year on Kayla Bond's team-leading second assist
- Hannah Farmer, a transfer from College of Charleston, netted her first goal of the season and her UNF career | It marked her third career collegiate goal verus Winthrop
- Haynes Grant earned her first assist of the year and second of her career
- Goalkeeper Mercedes Sapp finished with one save in earning her 14th career victory
- North Florida improves to 3-0-0 against Winthrop all-time
- Ospreys outshot the Eagles, 17-5, producing 11 shots on goal | Reiss led the attack with 7 shots including 4 on frame
- 10 different UNF players recorded shot attempts in the match
- 27 North Florida players earned time on the pitch today
UP NEXT
North Florida concludes their current three-match home stand Friday against Charleston Southern at 7 p.m.
FAULCONER TALE
"We did enough today to earn our third straight win of the season. I thought at times we did very well, but then we would lose our focus. It was disappointed taht we didn't find the third goal, when we were up 2-0, to maybe put the game away. To their credit, Winthrop kept battling and made things interesting. Eventually, we were able to go up 3-1 with a nice assist from Haynes Grant and finish by Hannah Farmer. We have a few days to continue work on some areas that need improvement and to get ready for Charleston Southern." - Head coach Eric Faulconer
