Mercer University
%20(1).png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
North Fla.
Bears Drop Second Straight, Lose 4-0 at UNF
9/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Mercer women's soccer team suffered its second-straight Atlantic Sun conference loss, dropping a 4-0 match at North Florida on Friday night.
The Bears (7-4-0, 1-2-0 A-Sun) fell to the Ospreys (5-7-1, 1-2-0 A-Sun) for the third-straight time and have not beat UNF since 2008. The two teams each had four shots on goal. The difference however, ended up being that UNF was able to capitalize on all four of their shots while the Bears were unable to score for just the second time all season. UNF's Carolina Lencina had two goals on the night to lead the Ospreys.
North Florida did their part in goal making all four saves on the night and kept the Bears offense at bay. Senior Olivia Tucker led the way for Mercer with three total shots, two of which were on goal but neither found their way into the back of the net.
"We have to do a better job at stopping the shots," Mercer head coach Grant Serafy said. "It was a fairly evenly played game, but we also have to capitalize on our chances."
Mercer held the overall advantage in shots (9-7) and had half the amount of fouls called on the night, but it was the Ospreys ability to make good on their scoring chances that secured their first conference win of the season.
The Bears kept the game close heading into halftime as UNF walked into the second period with just the 1-0 lead. It wasn't until halfway through the second half UNF began to pull away. Carolina Lencina added her second of the night in the 65th minute to give the Ospreys the 2-0 lead. From there Mercer was forced to try and make something happen.
The Ospreys took advantage of the Bears press and added a pair of goals in the final ten minutes of the match as Jill Holdsworth and Lauren Hopfensperger each scored to give the Ospreys the commanding 4-0 victory.
The Bears have a short turnaround before playing their next pivotal conference game at Jacksonville on Sunday at 2 p.m. Jacksonville had a tough-fought 1-0 victory over Kennesaw St. on Friday night and the Bears will have to respond in order to keep pace in A-Sun play.
