FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – After allowing a goal in the second minute of the match, and still trailing with seven minutes left, the Nova Southeastern men's soccer team found the equalizer it desperately needed in Monday evening's Sunshine State Conference Tournament quarterfinal match against Rollins at the NSU Soccer Complex before a double-overtime golden goal sent the Sharks on to Thursday's semifinal game against Lynn.
INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 2, Rollins 1 (2OT)
Records: Nova Southeastern (9-5-3), Rollins (5-8-2)
Location: NSU Soccer Complex | Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
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HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Sharks wasted no time searching for their first goal, but Matty Cornish's shot just 36 seconds in was saved by Tars goalkeeper Maximillian Obermeier.
- Rollins didn't wait long, either, and was able to convert on William Centeno's free kick from just outside the box, which sailed into the upper right corner of the net just four seconds short of the game's two-minute mark.
- The Tars attempted the next three shots in the match over the ensuing 15 minutes: the first of which was blocked, the second saved by Titouan Le Roux, and the final try drifting wide.
- The Sharks finally had their first good look at the tie when Curtis Thorn took a penalty kick in the 21st minute, but it missed off the inside of the left goalpost and was tipped away, resulting in a corner kick.
- Milos Christoforou came on in the 32nd minute and quickly had two shots in his first nine minutes of action, the former being Obermeier's fourth save on four shots faced, while the latter sailed too high.
- The Sharks had scoring opportunities to start the second half, with four corner kicks between the 49th and 52nd minutes, but their only shot to show for it was a header by Isidoro Garcia that went wide.
- NSU had another good chance in the 68th minute, but Henrik Berg's attempt was batted away and Thorn's recovery off the rebound was blocked.
- Finally, in the 84th minute, the Sharks tied the game when Cornish won a fight for the ball in the corner of the field and sent a cross over to Sebastian Loibl in front of the net, who headed it home, off the hand of Obermeier.
- The Sharks nearly won the game in regulation, but H. Berg's shot with five seconds left was just a bit too high. NSU had a similar chance at the end of the first overtime, this time by Jan Luca Ahillen with 36 seconds remaining.
- Less than two minutes into the second overtime period, Garcia found his way through a sea of Tars defenders to get the ball to Aleks Berg, who then sent it on to Cornish to start the celebration.
BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:
- After qualifying for the SSC Tournament just once from 2011-2017, the Sharks have now advanced to the semifinals in back-to-back seasons for the first time in program history. A semifinal victory against Lynn would give them their first berth in the tournament finals since 2004, their first year of conference eligibility.
- Loibl solidified his team lead by scoring his ninth goal of the season. Combined with his seven assists this year, and his 10-goal, five-assist effort in 2018, he has now reached the 25-point threshold in each of his two seasons with the program, becoming just the fourth player since 1994 to accomplish that. He joins an exclusive list that includes three NSU Sharks Hall of Fame inductees: Christian Goffi (Class of 2009), Teofilo Cubillas (Class of 2007), and Romain Ontentiente (Class of 2017).
- Cornish is now tied for third on the team with five goals, and tied for fourth with three assists. He matched his single-game, career high of three points, which he first set against Florida Memorial on Sept. 20 and later tied at Tampa on Oct. 12.
- A. Berg's fourth assist of the year ties him with Ahillen for second on the team, and all four have come in his last seven games played.
- Garcia earned his first assist of the season and his first point since scoring against Florida Memorial.
- The Sharks improve to 5-7-3 all-time in the SSC Tournament. Their only previous postseason meeting with Rollins came on the road in the 2014 tournament, another double-overtime match in which the Sharks advanced on PK's before falling to host and top-seeded Lynn 2-0 in the semifinals.
- This also marked the Sharks' first overtime win in postseason action since their first-ever SSC Tournament match on November 2, 2004, when Chance Foutch broke a scoreless tie in the 94th minute to help 14th-ranked NSU defeat Tampa at the NSU Soccer Complex. The two-seed Sharks then shutout Barry 2-0 in the semifinals before losing to four-seed Lynn in the finals.
STATS OF THE NIGHT:
- The shots were an even 5-5 in the first half, though the Sharks had a 4-2 edge in shots on goal. After halftime, however, the Sharks dominated possession to the tune of an 11-3 advantage in shots, including 8-2 in the second half and 3-1 between the two overtime periods.
- Three of those 11 shots for the Sharks were on target, including the two goals, while the Tars' last shot on goal was saved by Le Roux in the 16th minute.
- Cornish and Ahillen led the team with three shots each, and four more players had two apiece. Cornish's two shots on goal were also a team high.
UP NEXT:
The Sharks will make the short trip up to Boca Raton, Fla. on Thursday to go to battle with the Lynn Fighting Knights for a spot in Sunday's tournament final match. NSU made the same trip on Sept. 25 to begin SSC play, fighting for 110 minutes to a scoreless tie, which was the only blemish on Lynn's otherwise perfect record for its first 13 games. Game time from Bobby Campbell Stadium is set for 6:00 p.m. For complete coverage of the action, visit the
schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_MSoccer.
