JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The University of North Florida men's soccer team dropped a 5-0 decision to Georgia Southern in the 2011 season opener on Saturday night at Hodges Stadium.  

“Obviously, we are disappointed because we didn't play the way I know we can play,” head coach Derek Marinatos stated after the match.  “Georgia Southern did an excellent job of playing their game and taking us out of our game.  They came out prepared and fit and it showed tonight.  We are young and panicked a little in the second half when we fell behind which led to more goals. Our players are disappointed because they didn't play their game and the coaches are disappointed because we thought we could compete better than we did tonight.”

Offensively, the Ospreys recorded 12 shots including three shots on goal.  North Florida was thwarted by Georgia Southern's goalkeeper Bradley Bugg who posted three saves on the night.  In addition, UNF had a ball hit off the post and several shots go just wide of the net.  

Freshman Nick May led all UNF players with four shots with freshman Roberto Hinojosa and sophomore Ricky Lawrenceeach taking a pair of shots.  Lawrence led all Ospreys with two shots on goal, while freshman Pedro D'Avila also added a shot on goal.  

The Eagles used a goal from Luigi Clendining from six yards out to take a lead in the sixth minute of the match.  Clendining scored a second goal of the night just before halftime, taking a pass from Witt Carlisle at the top of the box and putting it in the net to go ahead 2-0.  

Georgia Southern used three goals in the second half, including a pair of goals by Carlisle to put the match out of reach for the Ospreys.  

North Florida played in front of a crowd of 707 patrons, including over 200 students – the largest home crowd in school history.

“The support tonight was tremendous and we definitely appreciate all the students that came out tonight,” said Marinatos. “We have a long stretch of road matches to iron out some of the problems we had tonight.  I hope the crowd continues to support us because they were great tonight.”

North Florida returns to action with a match against Longwood on Saturday, Sept. 3, in Farmville, Va. The Ospreys return to Hodges Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 18, as UNF takes on in-state rival Florida Atlantic.

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