Box Score BOX SCORE
LAKELAND, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men’s soccer team (5-3-0, 1-1-0 SSC) earned its first Sunshine State Conference victory, as the Sharks defeated the Florida Southern Mocs (1-5-1, 0-1-0 SSC) Wednesday, 2-1.
The Sharks entered the match with revenge on their mind after an early-season out-of-conference loss to Florida Southern, 1-0. NSU prevented history from repeating itself by scoring early. In the 22nd minute,
Andrea Spuntarelli (So., Rome, Italy) played a ball to
Riccardo Bini (Fr., Varese, Italy) five yards outside of the box. Bini took a shot that deflected off the goalkeeper’s hands, just to have the ball slowly dribble into the goal. It was Spuntarelli's second assist and first since the Sharks' season debut.
The Sharks looked to be in control after entering halftime with a 1-0 lead. However, the lead was whipped away when Florida Southern’s Carlos Rodriguez was fouled just inside the box. Rodriguez went on to score his penalty kick to tie the match, 1-1.
With the clock winding down, Bini struck again for his second game-winning goal of the season in the 85th minute.
Karl Enarsson (Fr., Gothenburg, Sweden) sent a great ball clear up the middle of the field that connected with Bini in the box. One-on-one with the keeper again, Bini lobbed the ball into the opposite corner of the net. The Sharks held on down the stretch to notch a win in their SSC record.
As they did in the first meeting, the Sharks outshot the Mocs, 18-6. Bini took a team-high seven shots and moved his team-best goal total to six.
Guido Riffeser (Fr., Bolzano, Italy) took three strikes, one of which was on-goal.
The Sharks will now carry a two-match winning streak into their showdown against Lynn, the nation’s top-ranked team, Saturday at the NSU Soccer Complex.
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