FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nichole Poppe set the tone early and sealed the deal late for Nova Southeastern, as the Sharks cruised to 2-0 shutout victory in their Sunshine State Conference opener Wednesday night at the NSU Soccer Complex.
"I'm proud of our team," said Sharks' head coach
John Constable after his club improved to 5-1 overall. "It was a good three points against a good Florida Southern team. They pass the ball well and made it difficult for us. We've got a long ways to go, but we're looking forward to our next game against Tampa."
Following a relatively slow start by both sides, Nova Southeastern found a bit of rhythm midway through the opening half. In the 15
th minute, Poppe had her first shot of the match corralled by Moccasins' keeper Helena Norrstrom before
Elizabeth Haizlip also had a viable scoring chance turned away just seconds later.
Continuing to force pressure on Florida Southern's back line, the Sharks managed to break through in the 23
rd minute when Poppe buried a low strike into the back of the net for her first goal of the season.
The Mocs, though, appeared poised to equalize in the early portion of the second half. Charging into the 18-yard box, forward Margot Chowansky fired towards the net, but had her attempt poked away by Sharks' keeper
Ida Norstrom for one her four saves in the win.
Just as it appeared Florida Southern had gathered some momentum, Poppe was there to take it right back for Nova Southeastern. Weaving her way through traffic in the 62
nd minute, the senior dodged multiple defenders and laced another well-placed ball past Norrstrom to provide some breathing room for the Sharks.
Nova Southeastern's Norstrom has yet to concede a goal in three appearances at home thus far in 2016, spanning an impressive 225 minutes.
NSU will continue league play Saturday, when it hits the road to face the Spartans at 7 p.m. ET. For complete coverage of the action, click on the provided links on the
schedule page.
