THOMASVILLE, Ga. (Sept. 6, 2009) - The Nova Southeastern men's soccer team evened up its record Sunday afternoon with a victory over Thomas University, 4-1 in Thomasville, Ga. The win puts the Sharks at 2-2-0 this season.
"It was a great way to bounce back," said head coach Giuseppe DePalo. "We had a good second half with great team spirit. This was the first time we had our whole starting lineup for 90 minutes and it showed."
The Night Hawks scored the first goal of the game when Niall McCourt scored inside the 18 yard box in the 23rd minute. The Sharks answered 12 minutes later when Aly Hassan (Jr., Davie Fla.) tied the game up with his first goal of 2009. Brian Cardozo (Jr., Davie, Fla.) and Craig Heenighan (Jr., Widnes, England) set up Hassan who scored from 10 feet away from the box.
The game-winning goal came from Juan Gonzalez (Jr., Pompano Beach, Fla.), who uncorked a 20-yard rocket into the top corner in the 58th minute. Cardozo earned his second assist when he set up Gonzalez directly in front of the goal.
Just five minutes later, Romain Onteniente (Sr., Nice, France) earned his first goal of the season. The former Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year scored from 25 yards away from the box off an assist from Tim Taylor (Jr., Farmington Hills, Mich.). Thomas' goalkeeper Jan Feldman, who had 12 total saves, made a diving effort but was just inches short of making the save.
NSU's final goal of the day came from Darryl Gordon (Jr., Miami, Fla.), who beat Feldman one-on-one after being set up by Gonzalez. Gonzalez would finish with a game-high three points.
The Sharks overwhelmed the opposition offensively, taking 30 shots to Thomas' nine. It was the widest shot margin of the year for NSU.. There were five cards given out on the day with only one going to the Sharks.
"There are lots of areas for improvement, but this was a step in the right direction as we head towards conference play," concluded DePalo.
Nova Southeastern will return home this Wednesday, Sept. 9 to play a non-conference game against Florida Tech at 7 p.m., at the NSU Soccer Complex.
