Sunday, September 07, 2008

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Sophomore Adam O'Neill's penalty kick halfway through the second overtime boosted the University of North Florida to a 3-2 win over former conference foe Gardner-Webb on Sunday in the Osprey men's soccer home opener.

"Our guys really showed a lot of character and fight today," UNF head coach Ray Bunch said. "Going in to overtime always makes things tougher, but we responded well and fought through the adversity."

UNF (1-2-0) carried a 2-0 lead into the final 30 minutes of regulation, but Gardner-Webb (0-4-0) battled back, finding the back of the net twice in less than 20 minutes to force extra time.

"I feel like we had control until the 67th minute, and then we lost our concentration," Bunch said. "It is important that we play the full 90 minutes. The goals we have allowed this season have been, for the most part, a result of our mistakes."

UNF outshot the Bulldogs 7-3 in the first half, but Gardner-Webb nearly doubled the Ospreys' shot total in the second period, tallying an 11-6 edge. In the extra periods, UNF blasted four shots, compared to one by GWU.

"We really seemed to control the overtimes," Bunch said. "They seemed content to be tied and just go to overtime after they tied it in regulation."