JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's soccer moves forward into conference play looking to take down the reigning ASUN champions, Lipscomb, on Saturday, Oct. 7, with kickoff set for 7 p.m., at Hodges Stadium.

WHAT TO KNOW

• The Ospreys have one conference point through three ASUN matches after a draw to Jacksonville and losses to Stetson and FGCU.
• Will be the eighth game in Jacksonville over the last 10 games before finishing the season outside the state of Florida in three of its last four matches.
• Luc Granitur added another goal against FGCU this past weekend to make it back-to-back games with a score and five goals total on the season.
• His five goals leads the team by more than double the second-most, while also being third in the conference and 54th in the nation.
• UNF remains stellar on defense with the best save percentage (0.755) and GAA (1.200) in the ASUN.
• Bendeguz Burka and Herbie Steigelman will try again to appear in its 60th career game together
• Jaylen Yearwood joins Steigelman as the only players to start all 10 games and record over 800 minute of playing time, while Felix Frenz joins their club of making an appearance in all 10 matches as well.
• With score on Saturday, there are now 11 different players with at least one assist on the year.
• Chema Preciado made it back as keeper against FGCU for his first start since Georgia Southern on Sept. 8.
• He now takes back the narrow lead for most saves on the team (19) with one more than Micah Gun (18).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

Lipscomb started its conference title defense with three consecutive ASUN wins to hold a 4-2-3 overall record going into its match against UNF. They have outscored Queens, Bellarmine and Central Arkansas by a 13-6 margin with at least three goals scored in each game.

After starting the season 1-2-2, the Bison turned up the offense with at last three goals scored in its past four games played, including their most recent game being a 6-3 win against Central Arkansas. This will be its third time on the road over their past four matches, as they have a 1-1-2 record in away games.

Tyrese Spicer has been nothing short of exceptional this season with 10 goals scored through eight appearances on 18 shots on goal. He is one of five Bison with multiple goals, including one of three with at least four goals.

Ploutarchos Alonefti and Malachi Jones have also been special with 15 combined assists to also reach double-digit points on the season. Juan Carlos Rodriguez has been steady as keeper for Lipscomb with 27 saves and a 2.44 GAA in nine starts.

SERIES HISTORY

- UNF is 9-9-1 all-time against Lipscomb with a 5-4 record, including three of its last four home games, against the Bison at home.
- The Ospreys won four straight against the Bison from 2014-2016, but have lost four of its last five since 2017.
- Nine of the last 11 matches played between North Florida and Lipscomb have been in shutout fashion.
- Their last win against Lipscomb came at home in 2021 with a 2-0 victory, as one of the two goals were scored by captain Bendeguz Burka.
- Joaquin Acuna and Zach Board were also names on this year's team that saw time in the 2021 win.

ON TAP

North Florida will play its for conference game outside of Jacksonville when travel north to face Bellarmine on Saturday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m., in Louisville, Ky.