Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Oct. 2, 2009) - The Nova Southeastern University women's soccer team defeated Tampa 3-2 in a Sunshine State Conference game on Friday evening at the NSU Soccer Complex. The win marks the first time in program history in which NSU (5-4-0, 2-2-0 SSC) has beaten Tampa (4-6-1, 0-1-0 SSC).

"I'm proud of the way the girls came out here and fought tonight," said head coach Mike Goodrich. "It was not our most efficient game, but at the end of the day, the girls battled and showed a lot of character. Tampa is a good team and well-coached.

"Tampa is a strong program and we've had some great battles," continued Goodrich. "Tonight, we ended up on the plus side. I'm sure we'll have many great future battles with Tampa."

NSU got out to an early 2-0 lead. Elizabeth Brauher (Sr., Hilo, Hawaii) put the Sharks on the scoreboard in the 15th minute. Brauher dribbled around multiple defenders, ultimately drawing goalkeeper Saige Steinmetz out of the goal and shooting the ball around Steinmetz while fending off one final Spartan defender.

Brauher helped set up the Sharks' second goal. Brauher passed the ball to Aubrey Fondy (Fr., Arvada, Colo.), who immediately found Alexis Hernandez (Jr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) open on the right side. Hernandez's shot found its way to the goal, tucking inside the right goal post in the 20th minute.

The Spartans cut into NSU's lead in the 32nd as Jazmin Perry scored to make it a 2-1 game, which would be the score going into halftime.

NSU regained a two-goal lead in the 59th minute as Kesiah Wattley (Jr., Panama City, Panama) registered an unassisted tally in traffic just outside of the goal.

Two minutes later, Tampa made it a one-goal game with Caroline Spencer scoring in traffic in the 61st minute. However, NSU did not allow anymore as the Sharks stopped multiple Spartan attempts, including blocking a potential game-tying goal in the 70th minute.

The Spartans outshot NSU 17-7 and held a 5-3 edge on corner kicks. Sarah Glass (R-Jr., Melbourne, Fla.) played in 65 minutes, recording all four of NSU's saves. Chrissy Hy (So., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) came in for the remaining 25 minutes. Although Hy did not have an official save, she broke up several Spartan crosses in order to preserve the win. Steinmetz had one save for Tampa.

NSU returns to the road on Wednesday for a midweek SSC game at Eckerd. Game time is set for 6 p.m.