FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Costly mistakes and a noteworthy effort by Johnson & Wales (Fla.) goalkeeper JC Diego thwarted Nova Southeastern's chances at a win in Monday night's home opener at the NSU Soccer Complex. Despite finishing the match on the favorable end of a 23-11 shot margin, the Sharks yielded a penalty kick just moments prior to halftime before the Wildcats eventually supplied the dagger late to steal the 2-0 victory.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Johnson & Wales 2, Nova Southeastern 0
Records: Johnson & Wales (4-1), Nova Southeastern (1-2, 0-0 SSC)
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_MSoccer | Instagram - @NSU_MSoccer | Facebook - /NSUSharksAthletics

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Still scoreless in the early going, Nova Southeastern breathed a sigh of relief after back-to-back miscues in the backend nearly resulted in a pair of goals for the Wildcats. Fortunately, for the Sharks, both empty-net opportunities missed just wide to keep the match knotted at 0-0.
• In the 37^th minute, the Sharks found themselves on the cusp of a breakthrough goal when Ignacio Goya drilled a right-footed missile towards the net. Knocked away by Diego, Juanes Devia then nearly converted off the deflection, but had his scoring chance rejected on another diving stop by the Wildcats' last line of defense.  
• With the momentum leaning in favor of the Sharks, Johnson & Wales sucked the life out of the home crowd in the 44^th minute. Awarded a penalty kick following a handball in the box, the Wildcats' Ruben Tejeda cashed in to put the visitors on the board.
• Nova Southeastern appeared as if it had found the much-needed equalizer in the 66^th minute on a score by Noel Johnson. Yet, the senior was whistled for offsides, nullifying what would hae been his first goal of the season.
• The frustration continued to mount in the 82^nd minute as the Sharks to threaten yet again. Off the bench, Bestun Mohammed flicked a bouncing ball past Diego towards an empty net. At the last second, though, Wildcats' defender Geronimo Este slid in and cleared the ball off the goal line and out of play.
• After escaping from the Sharks' countless chances all night, Johnson & Wales capitalized in the 86^th minute on Jonas Bukh's gut-wrenching goal that proved to seal the deal.  
   

STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• Nova Southeastern entered Monday with 30 combined shots through it's first two matches, yet tallied 23 alone against the Wildcats.
• Both Arns Carrenard and Stefan Faistenauer saw their first action of 2017, logging 79 and 45 minutes respectively in the effort.
• The penalty kick scored by Tejeda was the first surrendered by the Sharks since allowing two versus Florida Tech on October 12, 2016.

 
UP NEXT:
Nova Southeastern will remain out of conference when it hits the road to face Flagler this Saturday at 6 p.m. ET. For complete coverage of the action, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.