FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – In their highly anticipated Sunshine State Conference opener against perennial powerhouse and South Florida rival, the No. 5 Lynn Fighting Knights, Nova Southeastern came to play for more than just the mandatory 90 minutes of game time, pushing Lynn to the brink in an eventual scoreless tie.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP:
Score: Nova Southeastern 0, No. 5 Lynn 0 (2OT)
Records: Nova Southeastern (3-1-2, 0-0-1 SSC), No. 5 Lynn (4-0-1, 1-0-1 SSC)
Location: Bobby Campbell Stadium | Boca Raton, Fla.
Get Social: Twitter - @NSU_MSoccer | Instagram - @nsu_msoccer | Facebook - /NSUSharksMensSoccer

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The match started rather quietly, with only three shots combined in the first 20 minutes. However, despite a 6-2 first-half advantage in favor of the Knights, the first shot that was on target proved to be the last of the opening period, an attempt off the foot of NSU's Jan Luca Ahillen with five minutes remaining before halftime.
• Ahillen had another opportunity just three minutes after the break, but his penalty kick was saved by Lynn keeper Konstantin Fuhry.
• Matty Cornish had a pair of quick attempts of his own get stopped; the first one a mere 18 seconds after Ahillen's PK, and the second in the 52^nd minute.
• Titouan Le Roux returned the favor in the 80^th by swallowing up a penalty kick attempt by Lynn's Rodrigo Fernandez.
• The final 10 minutes of regulation saw just three more shots, two for Lynn and one by Sebastian Loibl - the Sharks' first attempt in nearly 35 minutes of play.
• In the first overtime period, the Knights had both shot attempts, but one missed high and the other wide.
• The Sharks took all three shots in the final 10 minutes of the match, the last by Milos Christoforou with just 97 seconds left being the best of the three, but it also resulted in a save.

BEYOND THE BOXSCORE:

• Le Roux's two saves give him 15 on the season, along with four shutouts (one combined) in just six games overall. He also improves his save percentage to 0.789 and his goals-against average to just 0.70, both numbers placing him among the Top-5 keepers in the conference.
• Le Roux and backup keeper Brian Lopez combined for eight shutouts in 17 matches last season, the program's best mark since 2002, with Le Roux taking credit for five of them. This year, the Sharks are already halfway to that total.
• After no ties in head coach Matt Watts' first 44 games at the helm of the program, the Sharks have now drawn three times in their last nine matches, dating back to last year's Senior Night scoreless tie, also against Lynn, on Oct. 23.
• The Sharks are undefeated in their last three matches in the series, recording two ties and a 1-0 victory over then-No. 19 Lynn on Oct. 25, 2017, a win that marked the first for NSU in Boca Raton, Fla. in 31 years.

 STATS OF THE NIGHT:

• The Fighting Knights outshot the Sharks 15-9, including 13-6 in regulation. The Sharks had four on target, though, compared to just two by Lynn.
• Just four players accounted for the offense's nine shots in the match: Loibl (3), Cornish (3), Ahillen (2) and Christoforou (1).

UP NEXT:
The Sharks will return home to face off against Florida Southern this Saturday at 7 p.m. For complete coverage of the action, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com.