Men’s Soccer Moves to No. 1 in the Nation

9/15/07

BOCA RATON, Fla. – When the Lynn University men’s soccer team travels to Lakeland, Fla., to face Florida Southern on Saturday at 7 pm, it will be as the no. 1 ranked team in the nation. The Fighting Knights ascended to the top spot after an undefeated weekend in which the team posted its fourth consecutive shutout. Fans can follow the action live by logging on to www.lynn.edu/athletics and clicking on the “live audio” and “live stats” links.



“It’s always a great honor to be number one in the country but it’s also a huge responsibility,” said head coach Shaun Pendleton. “Every opponent wants to be the team to take down number one, so our guys must maintain their level of play. This week we open our conference schedule at Florida Southern and it is a very difficult environment to play in.”



Lynn (6-0) remained undefeated with victories over Christian Brothers and Flagler at the Fitz Classic hosted by Tampa. Nano Short was selected as the tournament MVP while Tim Melia, Lee Porter, Dwight Barnett and James Hayers were named to the all-tournament team.



Short has been one of the Knights most consistent players since the start of the season as he leads the team and is tied for second in the Sunshine State Conference in points (11) and tied for fourth in goals (four). And after starting the first four games without a goal, Dwight Barnett has notched goals in consecutive contests.



The Blue and White’s defense has been the team’s strength throughout the year. The unit of Porter, Hayers, Sam Craven and Jamie Loucks has surrendered just 12 shots on goal (two per game). Teamed with keeper Tim Melia, LU has a 0.17 goals-against average, fifth lowest in the country. The pressure will be on Lynn as it is 8-0-1 all-time in conference openers.



Florida Southern (3-2) hosts Lynn for the first time since 2005. The Mocs are 0-10 all-time against the Knights and have been shutout out six times. Patrick Dandanell leads FSC offensively with two goals, four assists and eight points while the team is surrendering 1.80 goals per game.



Fans can follow the action live by logging on to www.lynn.edu/athletics and clicking on the “live audio” and “live stats” links.