North Florida Upends 11th-Ranked FGCU, 3-2

October 18, 2016

Box Score (PDF)
FORT MYERS, Fla. – North Florida (7-3-1, 3-0 ASUN) scored three unanswered goals including the eventual game-winner by freshman Mikey Connell in the 64^th minute to take down No. 11 FGCU (10-3-1, 2-1 ASUN) in a crucial conference road win. The victory is the first ever by the Ospreys over a Top-25 opponent.

Goals
1' – FGCU: Albert Ruiz (Assist: Arion Sobers-Assue)
13' – FGCU: Albert Ruiz (Assist: Arion Sobers-Assue)
29' – UNF: Adrian Nunez (Assist: Cormac Begley) Scored of 24's rebound
58' – UNF: Adrian Nunez (Assist: Aidan D'Mello) *Header to foot of 10
64' – UNF: Mikey Connell (Assist: Adrian Nunez)

Match Summary
Things looked bleak for the Ospreys over the first 13 minutes of play as FGCU's national-leading offense flexed its muscle with two goals off the foot of Albert Ruiz. The junior striker added two his national scoring lead with his 13^th and 14^th goals of the season. His first of the night came just 18 seconds into the game, the fastest goal in the ASUN this season.

The Ospreys countered with a two-goal scorer of their own in Adrian Nunez and were able to tie the game up in the 58^th minute. To cut the initial FGCU lead in half, Nunez cleaned up a Cormac Begley rocket that was deflected by FGCU keeper Sawyer Jackman in the 29^th minute. He knotted the game up at two, 12:12 into the second half with a strike from the right side off the box on a neatly placed header pass from Aidan D'Mello.

A little over six minutes after tying the game, Nunez delivered a perfect lead pass to Connelly who buried his first collegiate goal into the left corner of the net for the game-winning score.

GOOAAAALLL @OspreyMSOC !!! Mikey Connell scores from close range and UNF turns 0-2 deficit into 3-2 lead at FGCU #ASUNMSOC pic.twitter.com/7MCxkSY0dI
— ASUN Soccer ? (@ASUNSoccer) October 19, 2016

Additional Game Notes
-Five points (2g, 1a) by Nunez are the most by an Osprey this season and tied for the second most by any player in a single game in the program's D-1 era (2005-present).
-Coming into the game, the Ospreys had been winless in their previous 10 games against Top-25 opponents.
-The Ospreys held a 10-3 shot advantage in the second half, despite FGCU scoring on two of their first three shots. For the game, the Ospreys outshot the Eagles, 18-8.
-North Florida goalkeeper Juanes Fajardo played the final 45 minutes in net and earned his second win of the season. He made the Ospreys only save of the night, a dangerous chance by Dennis Zapata in the 86^th minute.
-FGCU came into the match with a nation's longest win streak, 10 games and Tuesday was the first regular season loss to an ASUN opponent since 2008.
-Tuesday was also the first time FGCU had been held to under three goals since Sept. 8. The Eagles average 3.38 goals per game, the most in the country.
-In addition to the 29-match FGCU ASUN regular season unbeaten streak snapped, the Ospreys halted the Eagles' 25-match home streak against ASUN opponents with a 2-1 triumph in the ASUN Tournament back in 2013.

From Coach Marinatos
How it happened
"Aside from the first 10 minutes of the game I thought we bounced back and outplayed them. Instead of getting down on ourselves I think came from behind hungry after going down 2-0. We got some great play from our bench, (Adrian) Nunez put together a player of the week performance after not starting and that's what you need to come out on top against team's like this."

On the historic win
"Obviously they are a great team and that shows in their ability to score along with how they are regarded nationally. They put us in a pretty adverse situation in the beginning part of the match. I'm proud of how the team responded and happy for the seniors, this is a big win for our program, I hope the guys get credit they deserve nationally for their hard work this season."

What the Win Means
"At the end of the day, sets us up to be a high seed in the ASUN tournament which has been our goal from the beginning. As a team we're going to shift our focus to three very tough opponents remaining on our schedule."

Up Next: The Ospreys will continue ASUN play this weekend when they travel to Stetson Saturday night for a 7:00 p.m. match.