The magic ran out for the men’s soccer team after a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat in Deland to crosstown rival Jacksonville University in the ASUN quarterfinals. With the early exit, the 2017 season has ended for the Ospreys.

Eleven minutes into the match, the Ospreys (3-10-2) performed their second corner kick of the night. With that corner kick came a cross which allowed UNF’s midfielder Mikey Connell to get the ball into the box for midfielder Micah Smoak to head the ball with his back and into the goal.

Two minutes after the first goal, the Dolphins(5-9-1) answered with a score of their own. Sam Gardner got the ball behind the Ospreys defense on the left side. The ball was passed to Kai Bennett who then made the first touch pass of the game to Igor Ferreira who knotted the score at 1 all.

At the 78th minute mark, Dolphins’ forward Selemani Baruani got the ball in the mid-field and went toe-to-toe with an Osprey defender before getting the ball over the goalie for the game-winning score.

Head Coach Derek Marinatos described the Ospreys’ play on the road during the first round.

“I thought we played well and definitely created our chances, we just didn’t put one away,” Marinatos said. “Credit to Jacksonville. They had a freshman keeper and they converted on their chances.”

The Ospreys fired off 25 shots during this game for first-place ranking in Division I school history. The Dolphins have now beaten the Ospreys for a second year in a row.

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