Men's Soccer Drops Heartbreaker at UCF, 2-1

Monday, August 29

Orlando, Fla.

7 p.m.

University of North Florida

0-2-0, 0-0-0

UCF

1-1-0, 0-0-0

North Florida

UCF

Photo by: Sam Rosenbloom

8/29/2022 10:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Ospreys Put Eight Shots on Goal

ORLANDO, Fla. - Angus Taylor scored the go-ahead goal in the 54th minute for North Florida men's soccer (0-2-0), but two UCF (1-1-0) goals in the final 26 minutes of the match gave the Ospreys a tough 2-1 loss against a strong Knights team Monday night. UNF created frequent opportunities, generating eight shots on goal and 11 corner kicks, both of which were greater totals than UCF's tallies in those areas.

GOALS

54' | Angus Taylor (Unassisted)
64' | Mael Haise (Gino Vivi)
76' | Mauricio Villalobos (Unassisted)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Alex Barnett stopped what could have been early damage with a great challenge in the box to prevent a shot on goal in the fifth minute.
Ale Rodriguez Lopez and Bryson Smith had early opportunities with back-to-back shots on goal, as well as a third chance on a broken play from LJ Estes, within the first ten minutes.
Angus Taylor was close to a tap-in that just went by his foot in the 27th minute that would've given the Ospreys an early lead.
In the 34th minute, Herbie Steigelman drove down the field and put a good ball on goal, but it was knocked away at the last second.
A steal by Luke Barforosh set up a quality look for Joaquin Acuna in the 38th minute, but UCF's defense held on with the keeper out of position.
In the 53rd minute, Barforosh came up clutch once again by blocking a shot in the box to earn a team save.
Just moments later, UNF turned a quick attack after recovering the UCF corner, which led to Taylor breaking through the defense to score the Ospreys' first goal of the year.
UCF responded in the 64th minute with an equalizing goal off a header from corner kick that found the back of the net.
The Knights had a free kick shot outside the box, but Padraic Gilley made an athletic save to keep the score knotted at 1-1.
Miscommunication inside the box led to an attacker from UCF stealing the ball and scoring to give the Knights a 2-1 lead.
A last-chance opportunity came in the 88th minute for Acuna, but a Knights defender knocked it out of play to secure the 2-1 final score.

RECORDS

North Florida | 0-2
UCF | 1-1

QUICK KICKS

UCF was tabbed to finish second in a deep American Athletic Conference.
Taylor, a newcomer transfer from Georgetown College, scored the first goal of the 2022 season for the Ospreys.
UNF outshot the Knights 7-2 in the first half, as well as 4-0 with shots on goal.
Eight shots on goal through regulation was the most for UNF in a single game since Oct. 5, 2019, in a 2-0 win against Jacksonville.
First time since 2018 that UNF starts season with two losses.
Only the 13th loss under head coach Derek Marinatos where the Ospreys lose after scoring the first goal.

FROM THE MOUTH OF MARINATOS

"It was unfortunate to not come out with at least a tie. We dominated the first half offensively with four shots on goal and eight total. We scored in the second half and were dangerous in transition. The 20-minute lull in the middle of the second half was where we lost the match. Unforced turnovers is what led to their set pieces and first goal. Then, we switched off on one play that cost us the match with the second goal. I'm definitely proud of the effort from the team, but we need to learn from this so we can come away with the win in the next game." -- head coach Derek Marinatos