FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The #NSU50 "Top Moments in NSU Athletics History" continues with the 11th moment on the list: Nova Southeastern begins the women's soccer program and wins Florida Sun Conference Championship in first season. 
The women's soccer team began its program with a match against Bellevue on Sept. 1, 1995. The match, a 2-0 loss for the Knights, kicked off one of NSU's premier programs and possibly the wildest season in NSU women's soccer history.
 
The program, which started with four scholarships divided between 15 mostly local athletes, took their lumps early. The Knights put together a brutal early-season schedule that featured No. 1 Lynn, NCAA Division II powerhouse Barry and DI Florida Atlantic. NSU was shut out in its first four matches, a streak of shutouts that the program has never passed in the regular season since.
 
The program's first win would come in a big way, defeating Flagler by five goals on Sept. 15. However, after six matches NSU would be outscored overall, 21-5. April More, who started as the team's goalkeeper in the first half of the season, had her work cut out for her over that stretch. She would finish the season with 109 saves, fourth most in team history, but make 78 of those saves in the first six matches. That included 21 saves against No. 1 Lynn, which is still the single match NSU record.
 
Although the Knights were a new team in one of the nation's toughest regions for soccer, they had plenty of talent and would put it all together before the end of the year. Despite 10 losses, NSU would win when it mattered most. Their second and third wins would come on back-to-back days from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 against Webber International, 3-2, and Flagler again, 5-1. Both matches were in conference play, and with another win on Oct. 6 against Palm Beach Atlantic, 4-0, NSU would hold three FSC wins and seal their seed in the FSC Tournament.
 
From there, the Knights would be led by Bev Young, who was named Florida Sun Conference Player of the Year in 1995 and 1996. On Nov. 4, Young scored the game-winning goal in the FSC semifinals over Palm Beach Atlantic. Teammate Amy Stone would earn the assist on the play. On Nov. 5, NSU faced St. Thomas in the FSC Championship game. Neither team would score in regulation, but the Knights won a shootout with the Bobcats to capture the conference title.
 
NSU would fall in the NAIA Regionals to No. 1 Lynn, who went on to win the 1995 NAIA National Championship. In its first season, the program was only two matches away from the national tournament. The 1995 team set the foundation for one of NSU's most successful programs. The women's soccer team has won over 150 matches and five conference titles in under 20 years, with the most recent coming in 2010. 

Check back with NSUSharks.com next Tuesday for the next #NSU50 "Top Moments in NSU Athletics History."

Moment No. 1: NSU Athletics is Born
Moment No. 2: Knights Chosen as School Mascot
Moment No. 3: Hansley Hired as Director of Athletics
Moment No. 4: Nova Adds Four Sports
Moment No. 5: Nova Joins NAIA
Moment No. 6: Nova Adds Three More Teams
Moment No. 7: Nova Helps Form FIAC
Moment No. 8: Nova Wins First Conference Championship
Moment No. 9: Baseball and Volleyball Win First Conference Titles
Moment No. 10: NSU Adds Softball

For the latest NSU news and results, be sure to visit www.NSUSharks.com. To have results sent directly to your cell phone via text message, sign up for SMS text message delivery by clicking here. For the latest news, be sure to sign up for the Shark Alert E-newsletter by clicking here.

Tweet #NSU50