FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University men's soccer team (3-1-0, 1-0-0 SSC) is set to travel to Tampa to face the Spartans (3-2-0, 0-0-0 SSC) Saturday at 6 p.m. at historic Pepin Stadium.
The Sharks enter the match following home victories over St. Thomas and Florida Southern, the latter earning the Sharks three points in the Sunshine State Conference standings. NSU defeated the Mocs, 4-0, on goals from
Filippo Mancini (So., Genova, Italy),
Faycal Oulahbib (Jr., Paris, France) and
Soma Gubacsi (Fr., Budapest, Hungary), who chipped in a pair after entering in the 80th minute.
Like NSU, Tampa is also coming off back-to-back wins over Clayton State and Warner. The Spartans are in a midst of their longest home stand of the year, making a positive result imperative to their NCAA Tournament chances.
Tampa will be playing in the friendly confines of Pepin Stadium, where they have not lost more than four matches in a season since 2004 and have gone undefeated at home multiple times. The facility is in the heart of downtown Tampa and has served as an athletic facility since 1899. Over the years it has hosted horse racing, baseball and football. Babe Ruth hit a home run there that traveled 587 feet in 1919. In 1926, the first professional football game in Tampa featured Red Grange against Jim Thorpe.
Despite Tampa's home advantage, the Sharks are looking as strong as ever. Their 4-0 win Wednesday was the program's best start to SSC play since joining the league in 2010. The Sharks have started 3-1-0 on the strength of their depth. 15 players have appeared in all four matches, while all but three players on the roster have played in three or more matches. 10 players, two who have yet to start, have scored or assisted at least once.
NSU will hope that depth carries the team to a positive result. Following this match will be two nonconference matches, against provisional SSC member Embry-Riddle and Ave Maria, before traveling to No. 1 Lynn, the defending NCAA National Champions. Points are hard to come by in the nation's toughest conference, and three on the road would pay great dividends as the season progresses.
Fans can watch the game for a fee and follow live stats by clicking the links on the schedule page. Follow @NSUSharks for updates throughout the night.
