Florida Tech Panthers Men’s Soccer Earns Tough 2-1 Home Victory Over Nova Southeastern

senior Adin Kavara knocks late penalty kick for W

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The last time Adin Kavara had taken a penalty kick he failed to score for the first time in his Panther career on Sept. 11 against West Alabama (FIT image)

BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA BEACH, FLORIDA –The last time Adin Kavara had taken a penalty kick he failed to score for the first time in his Panther career on Sept. 11 against West Alabama.

The Florida Tech Earns Tough 2-1 Home Victory Over Nova Southeastern didn’t let that bother him Wednesday night, slotting home a pair of opportunities from the dot to lead Florida Tech to a 2-1 victory over Nova Southeasetern at Rick Stottler Field.

“A player like Adin wants the ball and gets the ball,” said head coach Robin Chan. “We’re confident that he’s going to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Kavara’s first penalty conversion came in the 17th minute to put the Panthers up 1-0. Evan Enders created the chance, dancing to his left in the box and being brought down by the Shark defender.

For the most part it seemed like the Panthers controlled the first half’s possession and chances, though the stats reflect a closer first 45 minutes with FIT outshooting NSU 4-3.

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Efforts like this one from FIT player Fabian Egbele have the Panthers playing good soccer in 2016

However, things turned in the Sharks favor in the second half, with the Panther attack becoming stagnant and Nova taking control of the contest.

That proved to be costly for FIT as Bestun Mohammed evened the score at a goal apiece just six minutes into the half.

Though things stayed much the same throughout the second half, Florida Tech mounted a charge late behind renewed energy. Late in the contest, Kavara was taken down inside the penalty box, giving the Norwegian native another chance from 11 meters out.

With the game in the balance and all the pressure imaginable on his shoulders, the senior forward remained calm, cool and collected, placing a strike in the lower left corner for the game-winner with 5:47 left on the clock.

The late charge for FIT can in large part be credited to the play of three reserves, Hugo Lopez, Luca Campanini and Christian Camera. The trio come on late in the game and provided a boost with good energy and tough play.

“We know we’ve got depth in this squad and we’ve got players that we’re confident can come in and do a really good job for us,” added Chan. “Lopez is just coming off of an injury.

“We had a plan to start bringing him in to games last week but obviously that didn’t happen with the hurricane. Campanini has been starting a lot for us this year so we were confident he could come in and do a good job.”

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“Camera is a talented player. Him coming in, he was probably one of the biggest difference makers for us at the end.

“He held onto the ball that extra second. He’s very comfortable in possession and he’s got that low center of gravity. He’s hard to knock off the ball and is a good player to have in there when you’ve got the ball at your feet.”

The Panthers return to action on Saturday, travelling to Lakeland, Florida for a battle with Sunshine State Conference rival Florida Southern at 7 p.m. ET. CLICK HERE for links to live coverage.

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