FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's soccer team (2-1-0) will begin Sunshine State Conference play against the Florida Southern Mocs (1-2-0) Wednesday at the NSU Soccer Complex at 7 p.m.
The Sharks enter the match after winning their final nonconference tune up against the St. Thomas Bobcats Sunday afternoon, 1-0. The lone goal came from
Nate Bladecki (Fr., Troy, Mich.) in his debut at NSU. In the 14th minute, Bladecki was set up on a great play from sophomore
Jacob Robbie (Plantation, Fla.). Robbie won a ball just inside St. Thomas territory and dodged his defender, creating open space to work. Robbie placed a pinpoint pass to Bladecki, who punched it into the far post from 10 yards out on the right side.
The match gave the Sharks a positive result and an opportunity to give several players meaningful minutes. 16 players were used for at least 10 minutes, while only six Sharks went the full 90 minutes. With Wednesday's match counting for points in the league standings, the Sharks will be fresh and ready to give the Mocs a fight.
Florida Southern is entering the match off their first win over the season at home against Alabama-Huntsville, 2-1. The Mocs fell behind in the fifth minute but scored in the 43rd and 65th minutes to seal the victory. For his effort, Luke Bromley was named SSC Defensive Player of the Week Monday.
The Sharks defeated the Mocs, 3-1, in their last matchup in 2014, the first SSC win of the year for NSU. Both
Emilio Blanco (So., Weston, Fla.) and
Viktor Jonsson (Jr., Reykjavik, Iceland) scored against Florida Southern and will look to repeat on Wednesday. However, the Mocs have always played tough at NSU. Despite a 16-7-1 all-time record against them, the Sharks have not won at home against Florida Southern since 2011.
Wednesday's match will not just be NSU's first SSC match, but will be the first countable SSC match for the entire league. Lynn will host provisional member Palm Beach Atlantic Wednesday, but that match will not count towards the conference standings. Therefore, the winner of Saturday's match will hold points over the rest of the league until Saturday.
Live video and stats will be available through NSU's GameCentral page
HERE. Follow @NSUSharks on Twitter for updates throughout the night.
