ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (Oct. 10, 2009) - The Nova Southeastern men's soccer team snapped a two game losing streak by taking down the Eckerd Tritons, 1-0 Saturday night in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Romain Onteniente (Sr., Nice, France) scored the game winning goal in the 102nd minute. Set up by Craig Heenighan (Jr., Weston, Fla.) and Aly Hassan (Jr., Widnes, England), Onteniente put the ball in between the legs of the goalkeeper. It was Onteniente's second goal of the season.
"We stuck to the game plan and it helped us out all the way through overtime," said Onteniente. "We played three forwards and it worked for us. It's good to be back on track after my injury.
The first half was quiet as neither the Sharks (7-6-0, 2-3-0 SSC) or the Tritons (5-6-0, 3-2-0 SSC) could score. Eckerd took four shots to NSU's two but none of them were on goal. Hassan took the shots for the Sharks and both were on target.
The fans at the Turley Athletic Complex sat through another scoreless half, but the Sharks were much more active in the period. NSU took 11 shots in the second half with a whopping seven on goal. The Tritons tallied 10 shots in the first 90 minutes, none of which were on goal.
The Sharks best chance to take the lead in regulation came in the 78th minute when they had three shots on goal within a minute. Onteniente took a shot that was saved, but the goalkeeper made the mistake of fouling inside the box. Heenighan took NSU's first penalty kick of the season but the goalkeeper deflected the shot. Heenighan jetted towards the ball but Eckerd's Dominic Spedaliere made another diving save.
The Sharks played like they were the better team in both overtime periods. They took four shots, two of which were on target. The Tritons did not take a shot in either overtime period and finished the game without a shot on goal. Lyle Howe (Fr., Coral Springs, Fla.) has now shutout three opponents in five career starts.
The Nova Southeastern men's soccer team will return home this Wednesday, Oct. 14 to take on Palm Beach Atlantic at 7:00 p.m.
