BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Nova Southeastern University Sharks men's soccer team earned their most impressive win of the Matt Watts era, upsetting the No. 19 Lynn Fighting Knights, with a 1-0 shutout victory at Bobby Campbell Stadium.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 1, Lynn 0
Records: Nova Southeastern (7-7, 4-5 SSC), Lynn (9-3-1, 5-3-1 SSC)
Location: Bobby Campbell Stadium | Boca Raton, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The first half was quiet on both ends. The Knights had two shots in the first four minutes and a third in the 12^th minute. However, Jack Howard made two saves to keep them out of the net, while a strong Sharks defense prevented another shot the rest of the half. The Knights defense, meanwhile, held the Sharks without even a single shot the entire half.
• The Sharks finally had their first shot in the 60^th minute, from Noel Johnson, but it was blocked, as was a header by Faistenauer in the 75^th.
• Faistenauer broke the scoreless tie with 6:34 left in the match by heading in Bestun Mohammed's free kick attempt from the right wing. The sophomore's flick from the middle of the 6-yard box marked his second goal this season.
• There were a couple of scares in the game's waning minutes, when Max Herbert took two shots in the 89^th, but the first one hit the crossbar and the second was stopped by Howard to secure the upset.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• The Sharks topped a ranked Lynn side for the third time in the last six seasons. On September 18, 2013, they took down the No. 6 Knights, 4-1, and a 1-0 stunner of the No. 1 team in the nation took place on September 29, 2012, both of those matches coming at the NSU Soccer Complex.
• This marked the program's first road victory against Lynn's squad since November 7, 1986, then known as the College of Boca Raton, in the NAIA District Tournament Semifinals.
• The Sharks have now won three straight matches and four of their last five overall. This is their first three-game win streak since September 8-18 of 2013, coincidentally punctuated by their 4-1 defeat of No. 6 Lynn. The 1-0 win over No. 1 Lynn on September 29, 2012 was also the third of a three-match winning streak.
• The Sharks have also won back-to-back SSC matches for the first time since October 4-8 of 2014.
• By improving their record to 7-7 overall, the Sharks have their highest win total since 2010, when they finished the season 8-6-2.

 
STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• Lynn outshot NSU 9-3, with Faistenauer's goal being the Sharks' only on-target shot.
• Howard made four saves in net to improve to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in conference play. He recorded his second SSC shutout, the third-best shutout rate in the league.
• He's also the first Shark with two conference shutouts in the same season since Lyle Howe had two in 2009.
• Faistenauer scored his second goal in three matches, after scoring just one in his first 23 games as a Shark.

UP NEXT:
The Sharks will return to the NSU Soccer Complex on Saturday, when they host Embry-Riddle for the season finale and honor their 11 seniors in a pregame ceremony prior to the start of the match. For complete coverage of the action, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.

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Keep it rolling, @NSU_MSoccer! pic.twitter.com/64XzoxyV2u

— NSU Sharks Athletics (@NSUSharks) October 26, 2017