In what was just the second win for Nova Southeastern (6-4-2, 2-4 SSC) at University Field, the Saint Leo men’s soccer team (8-4, 2-4 SSC) surrendered two goals in the final 17 minutes to fall, 2-1 to the Sharks Saturday night in Sunshine State Conference action.
The Lions struck early when Glenn received a through ball from the midfield area. He dribbled hard down the left edge, split a pair of defenders and eventually found the back of the net on his second try at goal.
After registering the fourth-minute score, Saint Leo managed to maintain the one goal advantage as the defensive unit did not allow the Sharks a single shot-on-goal during the first 45 minutes.
Out of the halftime break however, the momentum appeared to be shifting in favor of the visitor’s from Fr. Lauderdale and costly miscues down the stretch eventually landed NSU their first breakthrough.
NSU first struck in the 74th minute when Hassan took advantage of a defensive communication error. The forward took the control of the loose ball deep in the Lions’ end and sent a rocket into the unmanned goal to tie the game at one apiece.
The Sharks’ comeback attempt was made complete in the 88th-minute when Hassan took a blast from the right edge of the area into left corner of the goal.
Saint Leo could not find a late connection as the Sharks held on to their 2-1 win.
The loss does not come without a lack of chances however, as Glenn was stopped at point blank range on multiple occasions. The Lions were held scoreless over the final 86 minutes of the game.
Hirst (7-4) took the loss for the Lions, making one save on three chances.
The loss keeps Saint Leo at six points in the SSC, where they are tied with NSU, Lynn, and Eckerd. With two games remaining on their SSC slate, the best the Lions can hope for is a 4-4 record. The loss also derails any plans of a conference regular season championship.
The Lions will continue their three-match home streak on Wednesday, October 20 against SSC foe Eckerd College. The two teams are set to collide at 7:30 p.m.