JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - North Florida men's soccer (2-4-4, 0-2-1) made a push to force a draw in the final 35 minutes of the match, but was short on the attempt in its 2-1 loss against Florida Gulf Coast (3-2-3, 2-0-1) Saturday evening.
The Ospreys scored in the 66th minute, courtesy of
Luc Granitur, after FGCU established a 2-0 advantage. Granitur added his fifth goal of the season and his second consecutive score in a game, while
Aiden Jokomba and
Scott Beeks each pick up their first assists of the season.
GOALS
26' | Shoki Yoshida (Niall Reid-Stephen & Gustavo Ferrari) - FGCU
49' | Gustavo Ferrari (Unassisted) - FGCU
66' | Luc Granitur (Aiden Jokomba & Scott Beeks) - UNF
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Ospreys had the first shot attempt on goal of the match with Granitur shooting one up the middle with FGCU's keeper making the save in the 11th minute.
- A few minutes after Granitur received a yellow card for a foul, the Eagles scored its first goal in the 26th minute putting it over the head of Preciado with a high chip from just inside the box.
- Both teams locked down on defense to close the first half, as Preciado made his first save after deflecting a shot in the bottom right corner.
- FGCU drew a foul in the box to set up a penalty kick, as Preciado jumped the right direction on the try but it went through his mitts in the 49th minute.
- Granitur had back-to-back tries on goal shortly after, but were both put out of harm by the Eagle defense.
- In the 66th minute, Jokomba made a beautiful cross to Granitur for an easy header score to make his third attempt successful.
- Braden Masker was subbed into the game in the 68th minute and almost tied the game just a minute afterwards, but the FGCU keeper puts a hand under the crossbar to force it out of play.
- One final shot attempt was made by the Ospreys in the final 30 seconds, but was unsuccessful in its comeback attempt in the loss at home.
RECORDS
North Florida | 2-4-4, 0-2-1
Florida Gulf Coast | 3-2-3, 2-0-1
QUICK KICKS
- Granitur extends his team lead for goals scored with five total, which is the most in a season for UNF since Joaquin Acuna in 2021.
- He also had four of the Ospreys' nine shot attempts, including three on goal, against FGCU on Saturday.
- Both defenses were held to under nine total shots with each team tallying four shots on goal.
- Jokomba was the first assist on the Granitur goal against the Eagles, for whom he played from 2019-2022.
- UNF competed against former Ospreys Luke Barforosh and Ale Rodriguez Lopez
FROM THE MOUTH OF MARINATOS
UP NEXT
The Ospreys will have another week of preparation before staying at Hodges Stadium against Lipscomb Saturday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m.
