LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO (Friday ONLY)
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University women's soccer team gets the 2014 season underway with two matches this weekend in the fourth annual Flagler Kick-Off Classic, with the opener taking place on Friday evening.
The Sharks' first match in St. Augustine begins at 5 p.m. on Friday against Palm Beach Atlantic. After an off-day, the showcase wraps up for NSU on Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. tilt against the homestanding Saints.
Head coach Michael Goodrich welcomes 14 players back from a year ago, three of which –
Kaitlyn Cauffman (R-Jr., Orlando, Fla.),
Amanda Kopale (R-So., Cape Coral, Fla.) and
Sierra Lelii (R-Jr., Seminole, Fla.) – all return after sitting out the season due to injury. Four more returnees started the majority of the team's games – juniors
Elizabeth Haumschild (Riverview, Fla.),
Sarah Keville (Vero Beach, Fla.) and
Stephanie Moench (Austin, Texas) and sophomore
Cydney Niedermeyer (Fort Myers, Fla.) – and they along with seven others will combine with 13 newcomers (nine freshmen and four transfers) to fill out the 2014 roster.
Haumschild is the team's leading returning scorer with five points, on two goals and an assist. Keville added four points (one goal and two assists), while
Tori Vives (Jr., Cooper City, Fla.) also punched in a goal. Along with Keville and Moench,
Sydney Franko (So., Fort Pierce, Fla.) also returns with two assists on the season. Returning sophomore goalkeeper
Rachel Lopez (Orlando, Fla.) saw action in four games in the net, starting three, with a save percentage of nearly 74 percent.
The year prior, Lelii had two goals and an assist in nine games, while Kopale started 14 of the team's 15 games at goalkeeper, allowing just 13 goals against 174 shots, with 61 saves and a save percentage of .824. She had five shutouts during her freshman campaign.
The Sharks and Flagler did not meet last season, and NSU's late-season match with PBA, on Oct. 26 in West Palm Beach, ended in a 2-2 tie. All-time, the team has been successful against both squads, sporting a 14-2-1 record against Flagler and a 20-7-1 mark against PBA.
Both contests will feature live scoring, available at
this link. Friday's match only, against the Sailfish, will be shown via Flagler's live video stream, which can be found
here.
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.
