MULTIMEDIA
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern men's and women's soccer teams will travel to Boca Raton, Fla. Wednesday for a nonconference doubleheader against the Lynn Fighting Knights. The men kick off at 4:30 p.m. with the women's game immediately following.
The men's soccer team (2-0-1) enters their midweek nonconference game with solid momentum. The Sharks are coming off a 6-2 trouncing of Ave Maria in the team's home debut on Sept. 10. In front of nearly 700 home fans, five players scored while junior
Karl Enarsson (Gothenburg, Sweden) found the back of the net twice. NSU will look to parlay that offensive showing into a victory at Lynn, one of the nation's most difficult teams to beat on the road.
The Fighting Knights enter riding high as well, with a 4-0 record pushing them to No. 6 in the nation in the most recent national rankings. They have amassed two road wins over Mississippi College and Delta State and two home wins over Shorter and Lee. Those wins have come on the back of strong play out the gate, as the Fighting Knights had outshot the opposition, 58-3, in their four first halves. Sophomore Chris Hellman accounts for seven of their 11 goals on the season, good for second in the nation, and already tied with last season's team lead. Freshman Max Schmidt has been starting in goal and has allowed only three goals in four matches.
The men's team has become accustomed to facing high-profile Lynn teams. This will be the fourth time that NSU will travel to a top-10 ranked Lynn team. At home, the Sharks faced No. 6 Lynn last season and upset the Fighting Knights, 4-1. In 2012, NSU hosted Lynn as an undefeated No. 1 nationally ranked team, and scored the upset over the eventual NCAA champs, 1-0.
The Sharks have already experienced facing a high-profile opponent on the road this year. NSU started the season at No. 11 Young Harris, and held the national contenders to a scoreless draw.
The Sharks' women's soccer team is coming off two wins in the season-opening matches at the Flagler Kick-Off Classic, starting 2-0-0 for the first time since 2011. Lynn is 2-2-0; after a 2-1 victory at home to open the season, they lost two of three in Georgia.
In the opening weekend, NSU overcame a 1-0 deficit against Palm Beach Atlantic with three unanswered goals, by
Cydney Niedermeyer (So., Fort Myers, Fla.),
Sierra Lelii (R-Jr., Seminole, Fla.) and
Sarah Keville (Jr., Vero Beach, Fla.). Goalkeeper Amanda Kopale (R-So., Cape Coral, Fla.) was flawless in the next match, coupling four saves with the second goals of the year by Lelii and Keville for a 2-0 win over the host Saints.
NSU showcased their depth in the two victories, using 19 players in the opener and 18 two days later. Eight newcomers made their NSU debut, with
Sara Lundberg (So., Linköping, Sweden),
Julia Nytorp (Jr., Själevad, Sweden) and
Agnes Holmquist (Fr., Borlänge, Sweden) starting each match in St. Augustine.
The Sharks have been unbeaten in their last two games at the McCusker Sports Complex Soccer Field. On Oct. 11, 2011, Lelii scored the game-winner in the 83rd minute to complete a come-from-behind victory after they entered the second half down 1-0. A hard-fought game resulted in a 1-1 tie on Oct. 5 of last season. In their other meeting last year, a non-conference match on Sept. 18, the Sharks won at home over the Fighting Knights 5-1, behind a hat trick from senior Malin Broberg.
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