JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's soccer heads back up north for its third road game of the season when it faces off in a midweek matchup against NC State on Wednesday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m.

WHAT TO KNOW

• The Ospreys' most recent loss to Stetson was the first one since the season opener on the road at USC Upstate.
• It will be the first of back-to-back road games with the Ospreys headed across town to play Jacksonville this upcoming weekend.
• The second-to-last non-conference match this season, as well as the only Wednesday game they'll play on the year.
• UNF leads the conference in team goals against average at 1.143, which ranks 64th in the nation.
• They still have outscored its opponents, 10-8, despite taking 30 less shots and 10 less shots on goal.
• Bendeguz Burka, Ethan Ash, Herbie Steigelman and Jaylen Yearwood have started in all seven matches.
• Luc Granitur remains the team leader in goals (3) and SOG (5), while Joaquin Acuna leads in shots (14) and is the only player on the squad with multiple goals and assists.
• The Ospreys look to get back Nick Kishchenko back on defense after missing the conference-opener against Stetson.
• The ASUN Defensive Player of the Week honoree from earlier this season currently holds the team lead in assists with three.
• Micah Gun in back-to-back starts to begin his 2023 campaign has 11 total saves with five or more saves in each of the two games played.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

NC State has had a back-and-forth season so far with two wins against Radford and USC Upstate, a pair of losses to UCF and Stetson, followed with two more wins against Boston College and Howard. After losing to Virginia in its most recent game, they are 4-0 when playing games at home and 0-3 in road matches.

In each of their four wins at home, they outscored their opponents, 11-2, but have fallen in away games, 8-2. This will be the third time facing a team from the state of Florida, but the first one that they'll face at home this season.

Luke Hille has produced the most on offense this season with five goals in seven starts so far with a team-leading 18 shots attempted and nine shots on goal. Junior Nare and Will Buete also have multiple goals scored in 2023, while Yuta Toya leads in assists with three total.

The Wolfpack have split its playing time for their goalkeepers, as both Lucas Hatsios and Ben Voase have played in four games. Each of them have allowed five goals, but Voase has the edge in saves with seven total compared to Hatsios' two total. 

SERIES HISTORY

- UNF is 1-0 all-time against NC State with a 1-0 record against the Wolfpack on the road.
- The Ospreys beat NC State on Sept. 4, 2016, in a slugfest with a score of 3-2.
- This will be the first Power Five opponent faced for UNF since playing South Carolina in 2017.

ON TAP

North Florida makes its way back to Jacksonville to play in the River City Rumble at JU on Saturday, Sept. 23, with a 7 p.m., kickoff.