FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s soccer team has qualified for the Sunshine State Conference Tournament for the sixth straight time. As the fifth seed, the Sharks (8-5-2, 4-4-0 SSC) will hit the road to play at fourth seeded No. 21 Tampa in the first round Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.

This year’s appearance in the SSC Tournament displays head coach Giuseppe DePalo’s consistent success since NSU joined the Sunshine State Conference in 2004. Since joining the SSC, NSU is the only school to compete in the men’s soccer tournament every season.

Although the Sharks have competed in the conference tournament every season, they have never taken the title. The closest the team came was in 2004 when they advanced to the final but lost to Lynn, 2-1. Jarrod Rennick collected seven saves in the program’s only appearance in the SSC Tournament Final and received All-SSC Tournament recognition.

The road to the conference tournament in 2010 may have been the most dramatic of them all. The Sharks started the conference season 0-4 and in the basement of the SSC standings. The Sharks needed four straight conference wins just to qualify for the tournament. The Sharks accomplished this feat with victories over Eckerd, Saint Leo, and Florida Southern. They capped it all off by scoring five goals in a win against Lynn, a team NSU has defeated only three times in school history.

In order to win NSU’s first SSC Tournament title they’ll need the A-game of Aly Hassan (Sr., Weston, Fla.), who has collected an SSC-high 11 goals along with three assists. Senior captain Craig Heenighan (Widnes, England) will need to contribute as he is the team’s leading playmaker with six assists this year. The Sharks will also rely on their freshman class who have been stellar all season long. Matthew Ilter (Lake Mary, Fla.), Stian Roa (Oslo, Norway), and Simon Nett (Grimstad, Norway) have all started consistently and have a combined six goals and five assists.

NSU has won four of its last five matches, a run that started after a 3-1 loss on the road against Tampa. In order for the Sharks’ 10 seniors to keep their careers alive, they’ll have to make up for that loss on the Spartans’ home turf. NSU has not won a match at Pepin Stadium since 2006 when then freshman Romain Onteniente scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in the 94th minute.

Although No. 21 Tampa returned multiple starters from last year’s SSC regular season championship team, they have had sporadic results all season. Although the Spartans had dominant wins against out-of-conference and NAIA opponents, including a 12-0 win over Johnson & Wales, they are 2-2-1 against teams in the SSC Tournament and have a 2-1 loss to Eckerd under their belt.

The Sharks are 4-9-3 all-time against the Spartans and haven’t defeated them in four straight matches. NSU is also 2-2-1 in SSC Tournament first round matches. Last season, the Sharks made up for a 7-0 loss during the regular season by tying Lynn and advancing on penalty kicks.

Fans can follow the Sharks as they try and keep their season alive via live stats HERE. Live audio will also be available through TampaSpartans.com or by clicking HERE.

2010 SUNSHINE STATE CONFERENCE MEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, November 2
No. 6 Saint Leo at No. 3 Florida Tech, 3 p.m
No. 5 Nova Southeastern at No. 4 Tampa, 7 p.m
.
Semifinals – Friday, November 5 (hosted by Barry University)
Winner No. 6/No. 3 Match vs. Rollins, 4:30 or 7 p.m.
Winner No. 5/No. 4 Match at Barry, 4:30 or 7 p.m.

Finals – Sunday, November 7 (hosted by Barry University)
Semifinal Winners, no later than 1 p.m.