GAME CENTRAL

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s soccer team is set to compete in one of the most important matches of the season as they travel to Miami Shores, Fla. to face the No. 8 Barry Buccaneers Saturday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m.

The Sharks head into the weekend with momentum on their side as they went 2-0 at the Stanno Tournament in Greeneville, Tenn. last weekend. The Sharks shutout both Carson-Newman and Tusculum as neither team threatened a potent NSU defense. The Bucs also competed in the tournament and gave up two goals combined against the same teams. Tusculum took Barry to overtime while Carson-Newman held Barry at a 1-1 score late in the match.

Despite NSU’s strong performance compared to Barry, the Bucs still enter conference season with a huge target on their backs. The Bucs were the preseason favorite to win the Sunshine State Conference Championship and now stand at a perfect record of 5-0. Barry has been dicing up opponents with the nation’s best goal scorer in Mark Anderson. Anderson has averaged a NCAA-best two goals per match this season.

Despite scoring at will throughout the start of the season, Anderson and the Bucs will now face the strongest defensive team they have seen this season. Reigning SSC Defensive Player of the Week Alvin Quaye (Sr., West Ham, England) alongside Simon Nett (So., Grimstad, Norway), Juan Rivera (Sr., Miami, Fla.) and Cory Harbinson (Jr., Delray Beach, Fla.) have allowed only two goals in four matches and have already shutout three teams.

The Shark defense has set up freshman goalkeeper Andrea Giombetti (Rome, Italy) for early success and he has thrived so far this year. Giombetti ranks in the national top-20 in goals against average with .452 goals against per game. He has saved over 87 percent of all shots on goal this year.

On the other side of the field there are still a lot of question marks for the Sharks. Head coach Giuseppe DePalo brought in a slew of offensive minded newcomers but none have stood out as the team’s primary goal scorers yet. Tyree Clarke (Fr., Birmingham, England), James Pucci (Fr., Carrara, Italy) and Anthony Jack (Fr., Stevenage, England) all have one goal on the season. Halil Tozar (Fr., Berlin, Germany) has been a regular starter for the Sharks up front, but will be unavailable for Saturday’s match.

If the Sharks pull through with a win it will be their first against the Bucs since 2008. The match, which also marked the last time Barry was nationally ranked while facing NSU, came on the road in which the Sharks won a thrilling 4-3 match. Former SSC Player of the Year Romain Onteniente assisted on three goals in the match, including the game winner.

Last season, Shark fans packed the NSU Soccer Complex for one of the most exciting matches of the season but lost, 1-0. NSU is 9-14-3 all-time against Barry.

Fans can follow the Sharks via live audio and live stats HERE. Follow the men’s soccer team on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/NSUSharks.

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