Box Score
MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern women's soccer team (5-9-2, 1-5-1 SSC) fell to the Florida Tech Panthers (9-5-1, 2-4-1 SSC), 1-0, Wednesday night at Rick Stotttler Field.
The Panthers managed to score the lone goal of the match with a little less than six minutes left in the first half. FIT was able to slot a ball through the Sharks' back line, setting up Ashley Vezina for her third goal of the season.
The first half was quiet up to that point, as the Panthers outshot the Sharks, 6-2, forcing
Rachel Lopez (Fr., Orlando, Fla.) and FIT's Julia Kantor to each make two saves.
Kelsey McCusker (Jr., Stone Harbor, Fla.) and
Alexandra Siciliano (Sr., New Hyde Park, N.Y.) each recorded a shot and the best opportunities in the half for the Sharks.
After an extended halftime due to the senior day festivities, the second half began with the same trend as the first, as both teams split possession nearly in half.
The best chance in the match for NSU came with 31 minutes remaining, after
Elizabeth Haumschild's (So., Riverview, Fla.) header slammed off the crossbar before the Panthers cleared the ball from danger. McCusker played a perfect ball into the box on a set piece from about 35 yards out, finding Haumschild's head.
After Haumschild's chance, the Sharks began to put intense pressure on the Panthers defense, playing the rest of the second half on the offensive.
Tori Vives (So., Cooper City, Fla.) had a chance to tie up the match with a little over 12 minutes to play, after a ball was miskicked from FIT goalkeeper, Kantor, out of the goal box. Vives was able to intercept the clearance from about 30 yards out on the right side of the goal and attempted to take a quick shot while Kantor was out of position. However, Vives attempt just missed wide.
Malin Broberg (Sr., Stockholm, Sweden) and
Dilja Olafsdottir (Sr., Reykjavik, Iceland) each had a chance to equalize the match in less than a minute's time. With seven minutes to play, Broberg took a strong contested shot from the top of the box, making its way towards the lower left corner of the net. However, a good diving fingertips save by Kantor forced a Shark corner kick. On the ensuing corner, Olafsdottir found herself taking a quick one-timed shot from the top right corner of the six yard box. Her shot blew past everyone and the mouth of goal, resulting in a FIT goal kick.
The Sharks outshot their opponent, 9-4, in the second half, forcing Kantor to come up with three big second half saves. NSU's Lopez finished the match with three saves.
Despite the loss, the Sharks' postseason hopes are still alive. A spot will be locked up with a win and a Lynn loss on Saturday, Nov. 2nd. The Sharks will go up against Florida Southern on senior night at 7:30 p.m.
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