JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's soccer looks to take momentum from its win at FAU into another non-conference road match when the Ospreys take on Mercer Saturday, Sept. 24, at 7 p.m.

WHAT TO KNOW

• Joaquin Acuna returned to the spotlight earlier this week, as last season's leading scorer for UNF executed on a header late at FAU to clinch the Ospreys' first win of the year.
• Michael Carrero assisted on the game-winning goal in only 13 minutes of playing time in his collegiate debut against the Owls.
• Micah Gun also made his Osprey debut at keeper on Tuesday allowing no goals and one save on a season-low six shots faced.
• Herbie Steigelman and Bendeguz Burka remain the only two players to start all seven games.
• Burka also has a strong hold of the shot lead on the team with 11 total, while Luto Tom is the only other player with more than six shots at nine total.
• This will be the fourth consecutive home game for Mercer, while UNF is on their second game of a four-game road trip.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

Mercer boasts a 3-2-3 record coming off of a recent 3-2 win against UAB. They also hold an impressive road victory at Virginia Tech and drew against NC State on neutral field as well.

After suffering an overtime loss to the Ospreys last season, the Bears went on to go 7-5-1 to finish the regular season and put together back-to-back victories to win the Southern Conference tournament. They faltered during the first round of NCAA tournament play in a 2-1 loss at Wake Forest.

Midfielders Dyland Gaither and Ousman Jabang return to the fold as Preseason All-Southern Conference selections for Mercer. The seniors were also a big reason as to why the Bears were picked by the coaches to finish second in the conference in 2022.

Gaither is the leader of an offensive juggernaut, as he's earned three goals and assisted on six scores through eight games this season, including four assists in the season-opening win against Winthrop. Four other players on the Bears also have multiple goals scored, as the team has averaged exactly two goals per game so far this season.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Ospreys are 7-8-1 all-time against Mercer with an 2-5 record against the Bears on the road.
• UNF is coming off back-to-back home wins against the Bears during the spring 2021 and fall 2021 seasons.
• Last season's match against Mercer was the most goals scored in a game through all of last season in a 4-3 overtime victory.
• Acuna scored twice in last year's win, while Burka and Tom also added to that total.
• Ospreys will look for their first victory on the road against Mercer since the 2013 season.

ON TAP

North Florida continues into conference play with its third-straight road game against ASUN newcomer, Queens (N.C.), on Saturday, Oct. 1, at 6 p.m.