Featured Image: Darvin Nelson

Nomadic. One of the prevalent points of the 2020 season was that the Ospreys were always on the go. In the coming days of their 2021 campaign, the team is excited and pumped to be back on their home turf.

Their 2020 season was filled with many ups and downs. The team finished with a 4-3-3 record with almost all of their games being decided by a single goal. The team’s regular-season highlight came on Feb. 21 in Miami when they defeated No. 25 FIU 1-0. This win would be a bright spot of a seemingly disappointing season.

In the last game of the regular season, the Ospreys needed a win against FGCU to advance to the ASUN tournament. With a UNF goal before halftime, the Ospreys went into the second half with a 1-0 lead. This would stand until the 87th minute when FGCU found the back of the net and leveled the game. With the two teams unable to capitalize on opportunities, the game went to penalty kicks where the Eagles prevailed 5-3.

For the second year in a row, FGCU has knocked off the Ospreys from reaching the ASUN championships. 

While this would put a lot of other teams into a negative situation, the Ospreys are hopeful that rainy days lead to beautiful rainbows. After the season ended, Head Coach Dere Marinatos said that most of his players kept on working hard and playing with clubs during the summer. Getting the team on the same page has been a big goal for Marinatos this summer as captain’s practices and initial practices have been underway.

“I think that went off well,” Marinatos said about the preseason practices. “The guys are pretty intent on working out with strength conditioning as well to get prepared. Coming into day one, i’m really impressed with where a lot of the guys, especially a lot of the returners, are at and there have been some great newcomers as well.”

The Ospreys have added depth to their team with transfers from ETSU and even Daytona State. With a roster of 30 players, Marinatos has one of his biggest teams to date and he is excited for the challenge that provides his players. 

There will more competition for starting position, and the guys will need to work harder than ever for playing time this season. The added depth will increase the Osprey’s potential for big plays late in the game and provide fresh looks at times. 

With a full schedule this season that boasts 8 home games at Hodges Field, the team is excited to be back on their home turf after a 2020 season that saw them play a single game at Hodges. While a new track was being built around their field, the Ospreys relocated practices and games to Patton Park, five miles from UNF’s campus. Marinatos and his team had to adjust to the situation and prepare and train in a different way.

“We were training at Patton Park and playing a Patton park at a club field, and kind of bouncing around all the club fields,” Marinatos said. “We felt very nomadic. It was challenging.”

The Ospreys will play their first home game of the regular season on Sep. 3 against Mercer, but have two preseason matches on Aug. 14 and 16 against Trinity Baptist and Daytona State College. Getting back to a normal season and normal conditions has been a big advantage so far as Marinatos and his team prepare for the season.

Graduate student Adam Everett was with the team throughout the disappointment of last year’s quarterfinal loss and pushed through the challenges of training somewhere other than your home base. For him, it’s been a relief to be back on campus.

“It’s already been a more enjoyable experience as far as that goes,” Everett said about being back at Hodges stadium. “Just being able to step out of the locker room and get started.”

Everett highlighted that building team chemistry has been a major goal this offseason. Getting the guys together and going to team dinner and even volunteering together, they have improved their chemistry tremendously from years past. 

One of the other big things that the team is looking forward to this season is having fans back in the stands at Hodges Stadium and having announcers and festivities throughout the games. Everett says that the team is excited for that to be coming back and thrilled to be on that stage once again.

“It’s a good feeling walking out there with your supporters cheering your name and stuff like the rounds of applause you get when they introduce the team before kick-off,” Everett said. “I mean, it’s stuff that we were really missing last year.”

It’s no surprise that the team is ready to get back out onto the pitch and start competing. With titles in mind, the Ospreys have a clear vision and their eyes on the prize.

___

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact editor@unfspinnaker.com.