FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – On a night in which 14
th-ranked Nova Southeastern celebrated its four seniors, it was the freshmen-laden lineup that stole the show as the Sharks raced past Eckerd with a 2-0 victory Saturday.
With the win, Nova Southeastern has now set a new program record with its sixth consecutive home shutout and moves into sole possession of first place in the Sunshine State Conference after improving to 5-0-2 in the league.
Freshmen
Myriah Troutman and
Sini Laaksonen provided all the offense the Sharks would need, while keeper
Ida Norstrom tallied five saves to help Nova Southeastern cap its 2016 regular season home slate with an unbeaten 7-0-2 mark.
"We were pleased to win the game, especially for our seniors," said head coach
John Constable, who has now posted double-digit wins in each of his first two seasons at Nova Southeastern. "They've given a lot of good service to the program since I've been here. It was very important we got the three points.We needed people to step up and put the ball in the net tonight. Troutman did it first and then Sini got a very important second goal. I'm very proud of our team."
After nearly finding the back of the net on a beautiful pass from
Sydney Franko in the 32
nd minute, Troutman managed to redeem herself just plays later. A long ball sent down the field by Laaksonen was misplayed by the Eckerd defense, allowing Troutman to cash in on a wide open look to put the Sharks ahead 1-0.
Still in leading by the same margin, Laaksonen doubled Nova Southeastern's cushion in the opening moments of the second half when a deflected ball fell to her feet and was eventually struck into the back of the net for her third goal of the season.
The SSC's top defense continued to impose its will on the Tritons throughout the match. However, in the 61
st minute, a long free kick from about 30 yards out off the foot of Ashley Kreinbring appeared as if it would cut into the Sharks advantage. Norstrom, though, managed to flick the attempt off the crossbar as the Sharks' back line escaped unscathed.
NSU set the tone in the opening 45 minutes of the contest by outshooting Eckerd 13-4 before eventually wrapping up the night on the upper end of 16-9 differential.
In a make-up match that was previously washed out due to Hurricane Matthew, NSU will travel to Saint Leo to face off against the Lions Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET in a contest that looms large for SSC Championship implications. For complete coverage, log onto
nsusharks.com and click on the provided links on the
schedule page.
