University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
UNF
Spartans Fall to UNF in First Game of Conference Play
9/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 26, 2008
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. - The Spartan's late comeback fell short as they fell to the Lady Ospreys, 2-1. The Upstate offense that was lacking throughout the game finally came alive in the concluding five minutes of play. Most of the action on the field occurred on Upstate's defensive half, as the Lady Ospreys outshot them, 24-4 (15-1 in the first half).
Neither USC Upstate nor North Florida scored a goal in the first half, though the Lady Ospreys generated seven shots on goal. They obtained seven corner kicks throughout the half but were unable to capitalize on their scoring opportunities. Brittany Daughtry remained poised in the net as she recovered numerous lost balls and ignited the Spartan defense with three diving saves.
The Lady Ospreys wasted no time in the second half, though, scoring their first goal of the game within the first five minutes. Junior Katelin Swift notched her sixth goal of the season into the upper right corner of the net to give the Ospreys the 1-0 lead. Swift scored her second goal of the game nearly 15 minutes later off an assist from Senior, Elenaf Luzins.
With five minutes left to play in the game, the Spartans initiated their offense. Freshman Jaclyn Bishop entered the game and made an immediate impact. A shot by Caitlin Beale was deflected off the cross bar, and Bishop grabbed the rebound and produced a strong shot beyond Erica Lippitt for the first goal of her career. Unfortunately, the rally was too little and too late for the Spartans as they were unable to tie the game and lost, 2-1.
"I think we struggled across the board to find some rhythm to play tonight," said head coach Kendall Reyes. "Florida came off strong and we had a hard time settling into the game. I was happy to see us finally generate some offense. Those games are tough and hopefully we can shake it off by Sunday."
The Spartans are now 5-5 all-time against the Ospreys. They fall to 2-6 on the season and 0-1 in Conference play. The Ospreys advance to 4-5-1 and 1-0 in Conference play.
