PENSACOLA, Fla. – Nova Southeastern men’s soccer will carry its three-match winning streak into the final nonconference match of the regular season at West Florida on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m.
The Sharks’ hopes were slim three weeks ago as the team was coming off three straight losses in conference. The Shark battled back into contention with a four-goal win over Eckerd, a come from behind victory against Saint Leo, and a shutout of Florida Southern. Those three wins not only set up NSU for a spot in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament but also improved the team’s chances of making the NCAA South Regionals.
In order to maintain hope for postseason run the Sharks will have to take down West Florida, who are currently ranked fifth in the South Region and sit atop the Gulf South Conference standings. The Argonauts are also riding a three-match win streak and have only one loss in their last nine outings.
Fortunately the Sharks are firing on all cylinders on both sides of the ball. Senior striker
Aly Hassan (Sr., Weston, Fla.) is the current SSC Player of the Week and is making a strong case for a repeat. On Wednesday against Florida Southern, Hassan scored his team’s only goals in a 2-0 victory. He currently leads the SSC with four game-winning goals.
Defenders such as
Alvin Quaye (Jr., East Ham, England),
Simon Nett (Fr., Grimstad, Norway), and
Stefano Noce (So., Salerno, Italy) have made life easy for sophomore goalkeeper
Lyle Howe (So., Coral Springs, Fla.). The Shark defense has held the opposition to less than six shots-on-goal per game this season. Howe has performed excellent over the last three matches and collected nine saves in the team’s victory against Saint Leo. He has not allowed a goal over the last 176 minutes of play.
The Sharks are 3-3-1 against the Argonauts all-time as they evened out the series with a 1-0 victory last season. The match was one of the closest of the 2009 season as
Nate Dunbar scored the game’s only goal in the 77th minute. It was the Sharks’ first victory over West Florida since 2000.
NSU fans can follow the Sharks in Pensacola, Fla. via live stats by clicking HERE.
