FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's soccer team will kick off the fall season this weekend with two road matches in Georgia, facing No. 11 Young Harris Thursday at 7 p.m. and North Georgia Sunday at 11 a.m. Multimedia for both games can be found on the front page of NSUSharks.com.
The men's soccer team enters the season with several key players from last season, including All-Sunshine State Conference honorees
Nicola Brivio (Jr., Gallarate, Italy) and
Stefano Fanfoni (Jr., Cremona, Italy). They also have returning seniors
Andrea Giombetti (Rome, Italy),
David Robles (Miami, Fla.),
Andrea Spuntarelli (Rome, Italy) and
Vincenzo Padula (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), all of whom will look to make a big impact in their final campaign with the blue and gray.
In addition, nine newcomers have joined NSU, hoping to make this Sharks team the deepest in recent memory. The 2014 recruiting class includes two transfers and seven freshmen, all of whom will try and make an immediate impact.
To challenge the deep roster, head coach Giuseppe DePalo has scheduled a grueling opening weekend, starting with a top 15 team in Young Harris and an always tough North Georgia squad.
On Thursday, NSU will try and do what many other squads have failed miserably at, defeat Young Harris in the Mountain Lions' home opener. Young Harris is undefeated in home openers since 2009, outscoring opponents by a combined score of 18-3 during that span.
Young Harris, new to the NCAA, has been dominant in its time of transition. Since 2009, the Mountain Lions are 31-8-3 at home, averaging 2.57 goals per game and allowing only 1.05 per game. Last season, Young Harris came to NSU to play the Sharks in a tight match. Spuntarelli knocked one goal in for NSU, but Young Harris scored the game-winner in the 89
th minute to escape with the victory.
On Sunday, NSU faces another strong road challenge in the North Georgia Nighthawks. Historically, the Sharks are 3-1-1 all-time against them, with wins in 2007, 2008 and 2013. Last year, the Sharks shut North Georgia out at home, 4-0. Giombetti recorded his first shutout of the year, while the back line allowed only one shot on goal.
NSU may look to test the Nighthawks defense early, who will be without goalkeeper Kristopher Alonso. Alonso started 34 of 35 games for North Georgia from 2012-13 and owns the single season records for saves and goals against average. The Nighthawks brought in two extra keepers before the season, including Victor Ohlin, the starting keeper for Tusculum last season. Ohlin had a goals against average of 1.04 as a starter at Tusculum.
Check back with NSUSharks.com throughout the weekend for updates on the men's soccer team's road trip, and follow @NSUSharks on Twitter for instant updates during each match.
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