DENTON, Texas – (Nov. 10, 2019) – Florida Atlantic University women’s soccer saw their run in the Conference USA Championship come to an end in the title game, falling to North Texas, 5-2.
In order for the FAU (15-4-2) season to continue, it would be if the team receives an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 2019 Division I women’s soccer selection show takes place live on NCAA.com at 4:30 p.m. on Monday.
The Turning Point:
The first half was back and forth: the Mean Green (15-5-1) dented the scoreboard first, in the 13th, but a handful of minutes later, the Owls knotted it up on an Elisha Holmes rocket. The Owls took the lead in the 32nd, with Sammy Vitols toeing it in off a nice assist from Pernille Velta, but UNT had an answer six minutes after. The teams took a 2-2 stalemate into the locker room.
The Finish:
UNT made good on a corner kick in the 54th, and off a cross in the 58th for a two-score advantage. FAU had a good look from Tiril Haga just after that second goal, but it was saved. That was the Owls’ only attempt before UNT went up by three with a breakaway in the 71st, and would actually be their final shot of the match.
Notables:
· Holmes doubled her goal total on the season in this tournament, and now has four on the year; For Vitols, that marked her seventh
· Velta regained the team lead with her sixth – and then added her seventh – assist
· She now holds second place all to herself on the FAU all-time list
· Holmes, Velta and Jessica Monteiro were named to the All-Tournament Team
Quotable:
“I’m sad for our girls, I’m disappointed that we didn’t play a little bit better and deal with set pieces a little bit better,” said head coach Patrick Baker. “But it’s been a wonderful preseason, and non-conference and conference season, and to be the regular season champs over the course of that time and then to get here and play in three action-packed games. I had a quiet word with the team in the locker room … just because we don’t know if we’re going to play again. We think we have a healthy RPI, and we hope the committee will look favorably on our whole body of work, but I also told our players if we didn’t get another chance to play again, I wanted to address them. It’s a special group of seniors, it’s a special team, but it’s been driven by our seniors. I just couldn’t be more proud of a group of young ladies that have shared our vision of coming to Boca Raton and Florida Atlantic University and wanting to help change the complexion of our program.”
Full Video with Coach Baker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lof5Slwiiw
What’s Potentially Next:
Again, the NCAA selection show will be streamed Monday on NCAA.com beginning at 4:30 p.m. Should the Owls receive an invite, the first round of the NCAA Tournament can take place one of three days, Nov. 15-17, at selected host locations.
– FAUSports.com –
Florida Atlantic University Athletics:
FAU Athletics is comprised of 21 intercollegiate teams involving 450 student-athletes that compete in baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track, volleyball, beach volleyball, cheer and dance. The Owls are a NCAA Division I-A (FBS) institution and compete in Conference USA and the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) (beach volleyball, men’s swimming). The Owls have been playing football since 2001 and are a perfect 3-0 in bowl games, the most recent being a 50-3 victory over Akron in the 2017 Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. The dance team finished its 2014 season No. 8, nationally. FAU cheer won a national championship in 2016.
About Florida Atlantic University:
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.
