Ospreys men earn second NCAA Tournament berth
By Official Florida FC
North Florida’s men’s soccer team earned a one-way ticket to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday night with a thrilling win over Central Arkansas in penalty kicks.
Senior, Joaquin Acuna found the side netting in the fifth round of penalty kicks to give the Ospreys a 4-3 win at Jacksonville’s Hodges Stadium. The match ended 3-3 after 110 minutes.
Acuna scored in regulation, but Central Arkansas forward Devonte Richards scored a hat trick to force overtime.
Richards entered the ASUN Tournament with three goals in 1,210 minutes this season for Central Arkansas. He scored against Stetson in the semifinal, before his Saturday-night show in Jacksonville.
Central Arkansas was 5-0 against UNF. Though, Saturday’s contest was not officially a loss, it undoubtedly felt like one. The Bears (8-7-3) lost in the ASUN final for the third time in the last four years.
Anton Khelil, Tyler Prebenda and Rafa Rios all converted penalty kicks for UNF. Iu Pentinat saved a penalty kick from Central Arkansas’ Yamato Fujishima in the third round of the shootout.
Khelil scored UNF’s opener in the 10th minute. Richards responded with goals in the 14th and 22nd minutes to give Central Arkansas the lead. UNF’s David Perez equalized in the 39th minute.
Both teams had chances to end the match in overtime. Central Arkansas hit the post with a long-range shot from 30 yards in the 106th minute, while UNF blazed an opportunity over the crossbar in the waning seconds.
Afterward, first-year UNF head coach Jamie Davies said this year’s Ospreys were a special group.
“We’ve been through ebbs and flows, ups and downs…this is their reward,” Davies told the ESPN+ broadcast.
The Ospreys (7-7-4) will play in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015.
