Box Score SAINT LEO, Fla. – Held without a shot on target until the 76th minute, the Nova Southeastern offense caught fire all the sudden and scored twice in a 47-second span to shock Barry 2-1 in the second Sunshine State Conference semifinal Friday night.
The victory marks the first in postseason play for Nova Southeastern since October 30, 2007 as the Sharks now advance to the SSC Tournament final in a rematch with Saint Leo Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
The Buccaneers' held a 1-0 advantage for much of the match after Carissa Sanchez struck first in the fifth minute, but it was the Sharks that got the last laugh thanks to back-to-back goals in the blink of an eye from freshmen Myriah Troutman and Emma Heikkila.
"I am beyond proud of our players," said head coach John Constable following the comeback effort. "Barry is not the type of team you want to go down 1-0 against as they are very solid defensively and ultimately have many experienced SSC winners in their starting 11. However, we kept believing in ourselves and kept the faith that a chance would come. Thankfully, we took advantage of it when it did."
Nova Southeastern owned a 10-3 advantage in the shot department, limiting Barry to just one attempt on goal throughout the contest. That one shot was ill-advised as well, yet stood as the difference until some late-game action swung the momentum in a heartbeat.
With the Buccaneers threatening deep in the Sharks' defensive end early on, Sanchez pressured an attempted clearance and forced a deflection that ultimately skidded just across the goal line to put Barry in front 1-0.
Quite a deflating way to open a match, however, the Sharks remained poised to snap Barry's previous eight-game unbeaten streak. In the 76th minute, senior Nichole Poppe, one of four Nova Southeastern players award First Team All-SSC honors earlier in the week, carved up the Bucs defense before finding Troutman in front of the net. Troutman's opportunity at an equalizer was turned away, though, by Barry goalie Paula Forero to keep the match glued at 1-0.
Just moments later, Troutman found herself with a second chance at an equalizer. Only this time the forward cashed in on her third goal of the season to draw the Sharks back even in the 78th minute.
Before the Nova Southeastern faithful could even catch its breath, the Shark offense was on the attack again when Heikkila gained possession off a turnover on the ensuing kickoff. Dribbling from roughly 25 yards out, the native of Tornio, Finland reared back and fired towards the goal. The shot attempt landed in front of Forero, but a bit of a funny hop was misplayed and bounced into the back of the net for the eventual game-winner.
"Our character, culture and overall team mentality was questioned when we were down 1-0 with time running out," said Constable. "Thankfully, our young team with 30 new players and only three returners answered those questions emphatically."
NSU will look to seek revenge against host Saint Leo on Sunday with a chance at earning the program's first-ever SSC Tournament title. For complete coverage of the action, follow along on Twitter at @NSU_WSoccer and by clicking on the provided links on the schedule page.
