JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The North Florida Women's Soccer team fell 2-1 in a nail-biting edition of the annual River City Rumble Friday night at Southern Oak Stadium.
The Ospreys (4-11-1, 2-4-1 A-Sun) will now wait and see the results from tomorrow's conference matches to determine where they'll potentially play in the conference tournament.
Despite holding the overall shot advantage by a margin of 16-11 and the on-target margin by 8-5, as well as creating multiple chances from set pieces, North Florida dropped a heartbreaker in the annual rivalry match.
"I am heartbroken for these kids and they deserved a result tonight. We knew what was at stake and they did everything we asked of them," said coach Robin Confer. "We knew JU was going to be organized and in the second half we were all over them and couldn't equalize. I'm so proud of the effort this team has given and they deserve more."
The Dolphins (6-7-2, 4-2-1 A-Sun) opened up with a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute, when Cassie Elmore found Bailey Dotsikas with a cross into midfield, where she was able to re-direct it into the back of the net.
In the 52nd minute, JU took a 2-0 lead from a Marie Weckhurst goal, who put it in from inside the six-yard box after Cassie Elmore had her shot deflected by a diving Victoria Ekeli.
The Ospreys were able to get one goal back in the 60th minute, when senior Lanie Keating drove a free kick into the box, causing a goal-mouth scramble. Junior Gabrielle Liguori found the back of the net after punching it in from inside the box.
The Ospreys had their shots at the equalizer but couldn't find the net. In the 77th minute, junior Alexis Bredeau got a good long shot in from about 25 yards out, but the Dolphin keeper made a diving save to push the ball right of the net.
In the 86th minute, sophomore Katy Mixon got a chance just inside the box, but her low rip was halted by the diving Jacksonville keeper.