ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – An Emma Heikkila goal left Nova Southeastern 7:07 from clinching the Sunshine State Conference regular season championship. A late free kick in regulation, however, turned the tides, as NSU and Eckerd eventually played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw on Friday night. With the result, the Sharks have locked up the No. 3 seed in the SSC Tournament, and will now host sixth-seeded Lynn next Monday.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 1, Eckerd 1 (2OT)
Records: Nova Southeastern (13-2-2, 7-1-2 SSC), Eckerd (6-7-2, 2-6-2 SSC)
Location: Johnson Field | St. Petersburg, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_WSoccer | Instagram - @nsu_wsoccer | Facebook - /nsusoccer

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Both defenses dominated play throughout much of the opening half. The Tritons tallied two harmless shot attempts in the first 15 minutes before Heikkila produced the first real chance for the Sharks in the 19^th minute. With possession from about 30 yards out, the senior fired a left-footed missile, only to watch the attempt sail just high of the crossbar.
• Heikkila paced the NSU offense with four shots in total in the first half, while the team collectively earned three corner kicks. However, the two sides would enter intermission knotted up at 0-0.
• NSU was on the attack in the 51^st minute when Adanna Edwards made a lunging shot attempt towards net. A sliding save by Eckerd keeper Casey Winn, though, put an end to the threat.
• The Sharks came up empty again in the 65^th minute, but would only have to wait 4:54 longer to finally break through when Heikkila headed in a Chama Silva corner kick to hand NSU a 1-0 edge.
• While the Sharks began to sense victory as the match wore into the 83^rd minute, the Tritons had other ideas, as Sophia Kopko equalized on a deep free kick from the left wing.
• NSU would create a handful of chances in extra time, but Winn continued to step up time after time, eventually finishing the night with 11 saves to prevent the Sharks from heading back to Fort Lauderdale with the regular season title.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Following consecutive losses in mid-October, the Sharks closed the regular season with a 3-0-1 mark in their final four matches.

STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• The Sharks dominated play, owning a 21-4 advantage in shots, while winning the corner kick battle, 10-0.
• NSU keeper Shannon Hearty collected two saves in the effort.

UP NEXT:
Winners of a 4-0 contest back on Sept. 25, NSU will look to repeat its performance when Lynn comes to town again on Monday. For complete coverage of the action, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_WSoccer.