FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Despite abbreviated prep time as a result of Hurricane Dorian, the Nova Southeastern women's soccer team will hit the ground running heading into Thursday afternoon's regular season opener at home against Florida National.

Prior to the lay-off, the Sharks showed gradual improvement throughout the preseason, capped by a solid all-around performance versus ASA Miami on Aug. 28. The team's recent play, combined with its wealth of depth and experience, has head coach John Constable still in good spirits, even with the lost practice reps.

"We have a lot of experienced players this year," said Constable. "We have a lot of players that know their roles, know the system, know their teammates' roles, and have been with the program for quite a while now. We have players with experience playing in SSC finals, as well as NCAA Tournaments. I think experience is incredibly important. We hope that can help us throughout the season."

The schedule itself offers another favorable advantage for the Sharks, as they'll begin 2019 with each of their first six matches at home, where they've lost just five times since Constable took over the program back at the start of 2015. A run of three games – Florida National, Florida Memorial and Johnson & Wales (Fla.) – within the season's first week will test the from a physical standpoint. Come away with three wins, though, and Nova Southeastern will certainly have gained the bit of needed confidence heading into the thick of its challenging schedule.

As always, expectations will be high for the Sharks once again this fall, only validated by their No. 2 ranking in the Sunshine State Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. Nova Southeastern has appeared in the NCAA Tournament in each of the past four seasons, although it's been ousted in the opening round three of those times. With highly-regarded players such as Hannah Christophe, Adanna Edwards and Emma Heikkila up top, along with fellow captain Paige Napolitano leading the backline, Constable hopes this year's team has what it takes to overcome that hurdle.

"We have a good culture and a driven mindset," he said. "The overall expectation is to reach a level this program's never been before. We want to return to the NCAA Tournament, but we want to produce this time once we get there. We want to win any trophy that we compete for, but at the same time, we know how tough that is."

As part of a season-opening Thirsty Thursday promotion, free lemonade will be available for all fans in attendance throughout Thursday's game.

For online coverage of the action, visit the schedule page on NSUSharks.com or follow the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_WSoccer.