FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Back at the NSU Soccer Complex for the first time in two weeks, the Nova Southeastern women's soccer team (11-2-1, 5-1-1 SSC) snapped a three-game winless skid with a 2-0 victory over the Saint Leo Lions (5-8-1, 2-5 SSC) on Saturday evening, as they continue to vie for a top-two seed and first-round bye in the Sunshine State Conference tournament. The Sharks honored 10 seniors in the program during a pre-game ceremony.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 2, Saint Leo 0
Records: Nova Southeastern (11-2-1, 5-1-1 SSC), Saint Leo (5-8-1, 2-5 SSC)
Location: NSU Soccer Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:

• In a pre-game ceremony, the careers of all 10 members of the squad's senior class were recognized: Skyler Mackey, Gaby Moreira, Hannah Christophe, Emma Heikkila, Paige Napolitano, Myriah Troutman, Amber Hamilton, Jessica Bonenclark, Alexys Nowak, and Nicole Staley.
• Eager to put an end to a scoreless streak that was near 300 minutes coming into the match, the Sharks' offense was aggressive from the get-go and controlled the tempo throughout. They put up seven shots in the first 15 minutes of action before the Lions could send even one the other way in the 20th minute.
• Their onslaught paid off shortly thereafter, when Hannah Christophe fielded a long pass from midfield and fed Emma Heikkila a perfect ball to send past the diving Lions goalkeeper.
• Barely 10 minutes had passed before the Sharks struck again, as Christophe took another deep ball, this time from Skyler Mackey, who intercepted a through-ball attempt towards the left side of the opposite net, and exposed a hole in the Lions' defense by getting around two opponents. The keeper left the net in attempt to eliminate the threat, but Christophe was able to keep the ball for herself and hit the wide-open net to add to the lead.
• The Sharks defense stood strong for the latter part of the half and throughout the second period to maintain the shutout.

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BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Posting their tenth shutout of the season in just 14 matches, the defense broke the program's single-season record, previously held by the 1998 team, who had nine in 22 games in just their fourth year of existence.
• Hannah Christophe's goal was her tenth of the season and her first since Sept. 25 vs. Lynn, ending a streak of seven straight games without a point, after notching at least one in each of the first six. She previously reached the double-digit threshold with her 10-goal freshman campaign, joining Mandi Adams (1998, 2000), Shurell Burton (2005, 2006), and Sierra Lelii (2014, 2015) as the only players in program history with two seasons of 10 goals or more. She also matched her career-high of five assists with Emma Heikkila's goal.
• Heikkila's score was the 28th of her career, tying her with Alexis Hernandez for fourth all-time in program history, while Christophe is right behind at 27. They are both tied for second with 15 career assists, as well as top-5 in total points, at 71 and 69, respectively.
• Shannon Hearty, who improves to 7-0 as the goalkeeper of record, and Natalie Robayna combined on the shutout, as they continue to lead the nation with a collective Goals Against Average of 0.28.

 STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• After allowing a season-high 23 shots in Wednesday's match, including 15 in the second half alone, more than any other single match all season, the Sharks defense returned to form by allowing the Lions just six shots all night – three in each half – and only one on goal.
• The offense, meanwhile, tallied 26 shots: 16 in the first half and 10 more after the break. A total of nine were on target, six of them before halftime. They also posted a 12-1 edge in corner kicks.
• Chama Silva led the team with six shots, followed closely by Brianna Paige and Emma Heikkila (four each), as well as Hannah Christophe and Nicole Staley, who attempted three each. Silva, Heikkila, and Christophe all shared the team-high of two shots on goal.

UP NEXT:
The Sharks will face perhaps their toughest test of the season when they travel to Daytona Beach on Nov. 2 to take on Embry-Riddle. The contest will huge repercussions in the conference standings, as both teams are tied for second place with 16 points (5-1-1) following the Eagles' 1-1 tie at Lynn. For complete coverage of the action, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.