LIVE VIDEO | LIVE STATS
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's and women's soccer teams will host a nonconference doubleheader Saturday, beginning at 4:30 p.m. The men will kick off the action against old rivals, the St. Thomas Bobcats, before the women host No. 19 Tampa at 7 p.m.
The men (2-1-1) come into the match after taking their first loss of the season Wednesday in a lightning-delayed match against No. 6 Lynn, 4-0. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but it came against a program with a rich history and a team that the national voters expect to contend for the NCAA National Championship. The Sharks will look to rebound in the friendly confines of the NSU Soccer Complex, where the Sharks beat Ave Maria, 6-2, earlier in the season.
The men's team is 20-10-3 all-time against the Bobcats, with the series dating back to when the two teams competed in the Florida Sun Conference, now the Sun Conference, of the NAIA. The Sharks are undefeated against them over the last five meetings, a streak that dates back to 2007. During that time, NSU has only allowed two Bobcat goals. In the last meeting back in 2012, NSU defeated St. Thomas, 3-0. Then-freshmen
Matthias Bruno (Rome, Italy) and
Stefano Fanfoni (Cremona, Italy) each had big matches. Bruno scored the first goal of his career while Fanfoni recorded a pair of assists.
This season has not gone well for the Bobcats, but they have proven to be a dangerous opponent thus far. In a preseason exhibition, the Bobcats trounced Sunshine State Conference competitor Florida Southern, 4-1. Senior Olando Lawrence is the team's leading goal scorer headed into Saturday.
Following the postponement of Wednesday night's nonconference match at Lynn, the women's squad will be back on the pitch for their first game action in nearly two weeks. The 2-0 Sharks took both of their wins in a showcase in Saint Augustine, most recently playing on Sept. 7 in a win over Flagler.
Sierra Lelii (R-Jr., Seminole, Fla.) and
Sarah Keville (Jr., Vero Beach, Fla.) share the team lead with two goals apiece, with Lelii taking 12 shots, seven on goal, and Keville's two makes coming on five shots, three on target. Goalkeeper
Amanda Kopale (R-So., Cape Coral, Fla.) has been in goal for the entirety of both victories, tallying five saves and a shutout in the finale.
In another nonconference matchup against a Sunshine State Conference school, NSU will host No. 19 Tampa on Saturday evening. The Spartans have started their season on an incredible pace. They're 5-0-1 so far, outscoring opponents 30-1, including a 14-0 defeat of Georgia Southwestern in their most recent contest on Tuesday. In that matchup, Tampa did not allow a single shot attempt, while shooting 67 times themselves.
Cici Gonzalez currently leads the Spartans with seven goals and has added six assists, while Lauren Moore leads with seven assists and has six goals of her own. Against Georgia Southwestern, Moore had five goals, tying her own program record, while on the season, 15 Spartans in all have tallied at least one goal (and 12 have notched one or more assists). Starting goalkeeper Caroline Frykgard has given up just one goal in over 436 minutes, making 14 saves for a .933 save percentage.
Last season, the two teams played twice, in and out of conference. On Sept. 21, the then-ranked No. 5 Spartans won on their home pitch, 3-0. In the SSC matchup on Oct. 15, it was a 1-0 victory by No. 17 Tampa. The last NSU win in the series came on Oct. 8, 2010 in Tampa, 1-0, and the previous year, the Sharks took a victory at the NSU Soccer Complex, 3-2, on Oct. 2, 2009. Since the 1-0 NSU victory, Tampa is 4-0-1 in the series, which includes a scoreless draw in the team's only matchup on 2012.
Live video for both matches is available
HERE, while live stats can be found
HERE. Be sure to follow @NSUSharks on Twitter for updates throughout the evening.
For the latest NSU news and results, be sure to visit
www.NSUSharks.com. To have results sent directly to your cell phone via text message, sign up for SMS text message delivery by
clicking here. For the latest news, be sure to sign up for the Shark Alert E-newsletter by
clicking here.
