CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Florida Atlantic University men’s soccer team (8-6-3, 2-4-2 in Conference USA) upset the No. 3-seed, tournament host Charlotte (10-5-1, 5-3 in C-USA) in the opening round of the 2021 Conference USA Men’s Soccer Championship. Both teams held tough defensively through 110 minutes of play to send the match into penalty kicks. FAU went a perfect 5-5 to seal the deal and send the team off to the C-USA Semifinals on Friday. This marks the Owls’ first win in a C-USA Tournament, while breaking a nine-game losing skid to the 49ers.
HOW IT WAS DECIDED
First Half
Pontus Steffensen got the Owls started with a shot in the 18th minute, but the Charlotte keeper got a hold of it. Charlotte then began firing away shots, but at the 27th minute, the game remained scoreless. At the 37th minute, a Charlotte yellow card set the Owls up for a free kick. Alonso Coello Camarero took a good stab off the free kick, but is shot was delivered just high. The 49ers looked for an opportunity on the opposite end, but Neil Strauber tallied one of his three big saves on the night. After one half of play, the Owls were outshot 4-2 with the score knotted up at nil-nil.
Second Half
In the second half, Charlotte outshot FAU 6-2, but the Owls’ defense held tough. At the 70th minute, Charlotte took a great shot on the left side of the net, but Strauber punched the ball out for the save of the night. Tom Abrahamsson would then deliver a great chance for the Owls at the 75th minute with a shot on target, but the Charlotte keeper came up with the save. With time winding down in regulation, the 49ers had a good look, but that attempt went just wide left.
First and Second Overtime
Charlotte continued to dominate possession, but the score remained knotted up at zero. Charlotte’s Preston Popp took a shot at the 100th minute, but that attempt went left. Similar actions occurred in the second overtime period. Charlotte took a stab at the 110th minute, but Strauber got a great handle on the ball for the save. After 110 minutes, the game remained scoreless.
Shootout
FAU – Ivan Mykhailenko took the Owls’ first attempt, which found nothing but net to get past the Charlotte keeper.
CLT – Charlotte then tied things up, as Popp found the low left part of the net.
FAU – The Owls regained the lead off Filip Jauk’s shot, which was a cheapshot that had enough spin to slide by the keeper.
CLT – Strauber delivered a huge save, stopping one of Charlotte’s biggest attackers in Joe Britto from tying things up again. The Owls led, 2-1.
FAU – Tom Abrahamsson’s great shot helped the Owls go 3-for-3
CLT – Charlotte inched closer to the Owls, as Alex Willis’ attempt was good.
FAU – Jose Alastuey’s attempt looked as though the Charlotte keeper got a handle on it, but the ball slipped through his hands to put the Owls up 4-2.
CLT – The 49ers’ next attempt was good, as it sailed above Strauber to find the back of the net.
FAU –Coello Camarero, the heartbeat of the team, sealed the deal, as his kick found the high left part of the net. The Owls went a perfect 5-for-5 in the shootout to win the game.
OF NOTE
- The Owls won their first C-USA Tournament game in program history, which is also the first postseason victory for the Owls since 2007
- FAU snapped its nine-game losing streak to Charlotte with tonight’s draw
- Strauber delivered three incredible saves and captured his eighth shutout of his career, which is the fourth most in school history
- Coello Camarero logged two of the Owls four shots in the game
- Abrahamsson, Coello Camarero, Chadi Mayati, Graeme Pratt and Vasilis Spinos played all 110 minutes in the match
- The Owls’ backline delivered its fifth shutout of the year
WORHTEN’S WORDS OF WISDOM
“Man what a game! I’m so happy for the guys and pleased with them. I could go on forever…” said head coach Joey Worthen. “I’m really pleased with the way we showed up tonight. We have been talking to the guys about competing and fighting and that’s been looking in some of our previous games. We know we can play, but we needed to have that fight, and we certainty had it tonight. Everybody had it together a fantastic team performance against a really good Charlotte team. The result we had from them a couple weeks ago and that was in our minds, so we knew we had to compete. To be able to get the win against them at their home in the conference tournament is massive.
“Also, to pick up or first ever Conference USA Tournament win is massive. I’m so happy for the team and these older guys. We talked about making history here at FAU, and for the senior to be such a big part of that is fantastic. The penalties were great. I mean everybody buried their penalty and Neil [Strauber] makes a massive save. I just can’t say enough about the entire team. This was a team win. The guys that played, the guys that were on the bench and the guys even at home, this was a team win that has been years in the making. I’m really excited and look forward to doing it again on Friday.”
UP NEXT
FAU will face No. 2-seeded Marshall in the C-USA Championship Semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. Coverage of the match will be on ESPN+.
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