MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – Looking to rebound after a heartbreaking loss at the NSU Soccer Complex on Saturday, the Nova Southeastern men's soccer team showed up in a big way, defeating the Barry Buccaneers at Buccaneer Field on Wednesday by a score of 3-2. The Sharks, snapping an eight-game losing streak, improve to 3-9 with the win and 1-6 in the Sunshine State Conference, while the Bucs fall to 7-4 overall and 1-4 in the conference following their fourth straight SSC loss.
 
"This win has been a long time coming," said head coach Matt Watts following the victory. "We have been playing good soccer and the results just haven't been going our way. I'm really proud of the lads for getting their first win in conference and grinding it out tonight.
 
"What I am more proud of is how we have reacted to these previous defeats. The boys could have given up a while back but they have kept coming out to training everyday with great attitudes and kept believing in the process. They knew that if they kept trying to do the right thing that the result would come, and it has. We need to kick on from here and react well to this win."
 
Scoreless for a majority of the first half, the Sharks broke the ice when Filippo Mancini scored in the 36^th minute on a throw-in from Emilio Blanco. Going into halftime with that same 1-0 lead, the Sharks also held the advantage in shots 5-4, with four of those being on goal compared to just one Bucs shot.
 
The Bucs quickly tied the game just over seven minutes after returning to the field in the second half on a goal by Alex Doyle, who took a cross at the goal line from Leo Awokang. The Sharks responded less than five minutes later, though, as Nate Matthews found a wide open Noel Johnson in the 56^th minute for an easy pass directly into an open net after he had already beaten Bucs keeper Michael Scheraldi. The Sharks pushed their lead out to two in the 75^th minute when Juanes Devia took a pass from Bestun Mohammed and scored. The Bucs made it close again just four minutes after that as their top offensive threats, Thomas Coombes and Hanno Antoni, met up on a rebound to make it a 3-2 score.
 
The Sharks defense held strong for the last ten minutes to maintain the lead and secure the victory, allowing Barry to attempt just two shots after their second goal of the game. Despite being outshot 10-2 in the second half, the Sharks scored on both attempts, while five of 10 Bucs' shots were on target, of which only two found the back of the net. Overall, the Buccaneers doubled up the Sharks on shots, 14-7, but both teams had six shots on goal. In goal, Nico Rosiglioni made four saves for the Sharks.
 
It was the second goal of the season for each of the Sharks' three goal scorers in Mancini, Johnson and Devia, while Blanco got his second assist on the year and Matthews and Mohammed each picked up their first.
 
For the Sharks' men's soccer program, it was their first win at Buccaneer Field since a 2-1 victory on September 21, 2005. Combined with the 4-3 loss to Rollins on October 15 of this year, it was the first time they scored three or more goals in back-to-back matches since the 2008 season when they shutout North Georgia, 7-0, and Rollins, 3-0, on October 15 and 18, respectively. They also scored three or more times in consecutive conference matches for the first time in nearly 12 years, when they lost to Barry, 5-3, and defeated Florida Tech, 7-1, both at home, on the 27 and 31 of October 2004.
 
The Sharks will look to extend their winning streak to two games when they travel up to St. Petersburg, Florida to take on the Eckerd Tritons on Saturday, October 22. For complete coverage of the action, visit NSUSharks.com and click on the provided links on the schedule page.