Jacksonville, Fla. - Stetson's unbeaten streak ended at eight after a 2-0 loss to the University of North Florida Sunday in Jacksonville. It was the first victory of the season for the Ospreys who improved to 1-8-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the A-Sun. The Hatters fell to 7-1-1 and 1-1-0 in conference play.
Although Stetson finished with a 14-12 advantage in shots, UNF controlled most of the game as exemplified by its 10 corner kick opportunities to none for the Hatters.
The Ospreys jumped out to an early lead with a goal by Adam O'Neill in the fifth minute and finished the scoring at 71:32 of the second half by Greg Crowell.
The Hatters had a difficult time getting its offense going against the Ospreys who seemed motivated by the opportunity to defeat the top team in the league. Stetson's late charge in the second half was deflated by UNF's second goal and a red card issued to Jonathan Mendoza (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) that forced the visitors to play short-handed.
One problem defensively was the loss of senior team captain Robert Hodge (Devon, England) who was forced to sit out the game with a sprained ankle. His leadership on the pitch was missed.
Gonzalo de Mujica (Weston, Fla.) led the Hatters with four shots followed by Kevin Munz (Jupiter, Fla.) with three and Mendoza with two. Goalkeeper Logan Potter (Merritt Island, Fla.) faced five shots on goal and made three saves.
"Our performance tonight was unacceptable", said Stetson Head Coach T. Logan Fleck. "We will work hard this week to make sure that we are back on our game by Friday."
After four straight games on the road Stetson will return home this weekend for games against Lipscomb on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Belmont Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
