Jacksonville University Athletics issued the following announcement on Sept. 25.
Jacksonville's men's soccer team (2-5-0, 1-1-0 ASUN) defeated cross-town rival, the University of North Florida (2-4-1, 0-2-0 ASUN), to pick up its first conference win and earn bragging rights for the River City Rumble rivalry. The win ended the Dolphins four-game losing streak and evened out its conference record.
Intensity immediately flowed through both teams as the Dolphins and Ospreys took the field for kickoff.
At the 3:30 mark, the Osprey's attacked first with back-to-back shot attempts that would both be blocked by Dolphins starting goalkeeper, Jabari Gray. Three minutes later, North Florida would attempt a shot once more, but would be unsuccessful. The ball made its way back-and-forth as each team put up a physical defense. Tempers started to flare as fouls through the next 20 minutes of play were repeatedly called on both teams and the Ospreys were issued its first yellow card.
With ten minutes left in the half, North Florida committed a foul in the box that would set up JU's Reed Davis for a penalty kick. Davis managed to find the back of the net and put the Dolphins on the board, 1-0. The Ospreys came away with one more shot attempt that would be saved by Gray, as the whistle blew and the teams retreated to the locker rooms.
The second half began in a more back-and-forth fashion, as each team rattled off two shot attempts within the first ten minutes of the period. JU began to take control by keeping the ball on North Florida's side of the field, taking two more shot attempts that would cease to get past the goalkeeper. At the 67 minute mark, the intensity picked back up as the Ospreys were awarded another yellow card, followed by a first yellow card for JU.
Players began to wipe the field with their jerseys as the game became more physical during the last 15 minutes of play. The Ospreys threatened the Dolphins starting at the 79' mark, after accumulating more shot attempts and keeping the ball on JU's half of the field.
As the clock began to wind down, North Florida ran out of chances to tie the game to force overtime. The final whistle blew, but not before the Ospreys would earn its fifth and final yellow card of the match. JU exited the field with its first conference victory since the spring of 2021 in front of its home crowd.
"The River City Rumble is never a pretty game and I give credit to UNF because they are a good team and they really brought it tonight," head coach Mauricio Ruiz said. "Our team really battled for the first time this year. I feel like we competed, fought and played with energy, which is ultimately what got us the result."
Original source can be found here.
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