Amid light snowfall blanketing the field, the University of North Florida men’s soccer team fell in a hard-fought 2-1 battle against West Virginia on Nov. 21 in Morgantown, W. Va.
Despite scoring their first-ever NCAA Tournament goal in program history, the Ospreys struggled offensively in the first half and didn’t find the back of the net until the 86th minute.
First Half
The Ospreys believed they had the first chance of the match when, in the sixth minute, a header by senior forward Rentaro Miyakawa appeared to hit the hand of a Mountaineer defender. The referee disagreed, and no penalty was given, much to the chagrin of the Osprey players and coaching staff.
West Virginia found the back of the net first in the 27th minute. Mountaineer midfielder Felix Ewald sent in a cross that found the streaking head of forward Sergio Navarro, who placed his header well to keep it out of reach of UNF’s sophomore keeper, Luciano Natoli.
The Mountaineers continued to look dangerous throughout the half. In the 40th minute, Navarro made a bid for his second goal of the evening, but his shot ended up bouncing wide of the post for an Osprey goal kick.
The half ended with West Virginia leading 1-0, while the teams were tied in shots at four each.
Second Half
The second half began with a role reversal, as West Virginia believed they had earned a penalty after Natoli came off his line and collided with Ewald in the penalty area. The referee decided against awarding a penalty and allowed play to continue.
In the 63rd minute, the Mountaineers once again nearly earned themselves a penalty. A stray tackle by junior defender Alex Barnett was reviewed by the referee with the help of the Video Assisted Referee (VAR) system, but no penalty was given.
UWV would get their second goal in the 78th minute. Mountaineer midfielder Isaac Scheer fired a shot that was parried by Natoli, landing perfectly for forward Marcus Caldeira, who capitalized by slotting it into the back of the net.
The Ospreys responded in the 86th minute with a goal of their own. Jaxon Reinhardt scored the Ospreys’ first-ever goal in an NCAA Tournament off of a chipped pass by Rentaro Miyakawa. Reinhardt then poked it past multiple defenders and West Virginia goalkeeper Marc Bonnaire, giving the Ospreys a lifeline. The assist marked Miyakawa’s 9th of the season, a single-season record for UNF in the D-I era.
For the final four minutes of the match, the Ospreys intensely pushed for the game-tying goal, generating multiple shots. But it proved too little, too late, as the whistle blew, ending the Ospreys’ stellar season.
Post-match Thoughts
After the match, Osprey head coach Jamie Davies reflected on the title-winning season and what the future has in store, as well as stating how proud he was of what they had accomplished.
“The result didn’t go our way and there are some things we can do at a higher level, but sometimes you have to have these experiences in the tournament to be able to lean on this experience in later years,” Davies said. “We will head back to sunny Florida with pride, knowing that we are building something special here at UNF.”
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