FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.—The women's soccer team fought hard in a 1-0 defeat to the Nova Southeastern Sharks on the road Wednesday night.
It was expected coming into the match that the contest would be a defensive battle as both squads had been stingy about giving up goals thus far in the 2019 campaign. NSU came into the game, its tenth, with eight shutouts on the year, while PBA had only surrendered six goals in seven competitions.
The game lived up to the expectation by needing only a single tally to make the difference.
Nova Southeastern put pressure on the Sailfish early, but well-timed challenges from defenders Kianna Magner and Trine Seistrup kept any shots from truly testing goalkeeper Madison Chiola.
The Sharks (10-0, 4-0 SSC) sent eight attempts toward goal in the opening half, but all except for one were either blocked away or off target.
Meanwhile, Palm Beach Atlantic (4-4, 1-3 SSC) created a pair of chances from redshirt-junior Kylee Rullo as the teams settled in. The Cape Coral native sent a curling try over the bar in the 15th minute followed by a header that went just high off of PBA's lone corner of the first 45 minutes.
Both teams looked to grab the upper hand in the second half of play; however, neither team generated a quality opportunity until the 66th minute. A Shark midfielder cut onto her left foot and sent a ball toward net that forced Chiola into a diving save to keep the match deadlocked.
The chance energized NSU in the ensuing minutes. Nova Southeastern, who finished the match with 20 shots and nine corners, possessed the ball in the attacking third for the majority of the remainder of the game.
Even after having a player sent off in the 79th minute, the Sharks were able to produce the winning effort just three minutes later.
Chiola tied her season-high save total with eight on the night, but the Sailfish dropped their third straight SSC contest.
With the one-goal loss, each of the last seven Palm Beach Atlantic women's soccer competitions have been determined by a single goal.
PBA will be back at the Rinker Athletic Campus on Saturday against Rollins to begin a three-game homestand. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.
