CHARLOTTE, N.C. – In the semifinals of the Conference USA Championship Tournament, the Florida Atlantic University women’s soccer team defeated Charlotte by a final score of 2-1. The fifth-seeded Owls will play the sixth-seeded Roadrunners of UTSA in the conference championship game on Sunday at 1 p.m. for a trip to the NCAA Division I Championship Tournament.
FAU has never won a Conference USA Tournament Championship, and has just one conference title in program history, the Atlantic Sun title in 2005.
Tonight, Charlotte threw the first punch by going up 1-0 early in just the 12′ with a Hailey Shand goal. FAU withstood the blow and countered only seven minutes later. In the offensive end, Bri Austin found an open Thelma Hermannsdottir. Hermannsdottir took it up into the box herself and blasted a shot that found the back of the net just inside the left post for the equalizer.
That score held until the 61st minute. Mia Sennes advanced the ball to the end line on the right side, and after taking a vicious hit, crossed it to Bri Austin in the center. Austin’s left-footed one-timer was on the money for the 2-1 lead. FAU’s defense slammed the door and allowed only three shots the rest of the way out with just one on net.
QUOTES FROM THE OWLS“We knew it was going to be difficult tonight, with Charlotte coming off a great victory over Rice,” FAU head coach Patrick Baker said. “I thought we were a little nervous and not really ourselves in the first 10 to 12 minutes. Thelma’s equalizer was special because it flipped the game pretty quickly right around the 20-minute mark. We didn’t really give Charlotte too much after that. Credit to the back line and Lexi (Gonzalez), I thought Lexi did great with the kicking game. We’re pleased with the effort and how we grew into the game. At halftime when it was 1-1, we said how we’re only 45 minutes away from the championship game and needed to score that first goal in the second half, and that’s exactly what we did.”
NOTABLE
- The appearance in the championship game will mark the first since 2019 and the third in the Baker era. The Owls also advanced to the final in 2016
- FAU has now won four games in a row in a streak that dates back to Oct. 16
- The Owls drew against UTSA 1-1 on Sept. 22
- Hermannsdottir’s goal is her career-high sixth of the season which is third on the team
- Austin tallies her ninth goal of the season to lead FAU and tie for second in all players in C-USA
- FAU controlled the pace of the game tonight with a 14-8 lead in shots and a 3-1 edge in corner kicks
- Lexi Gonzalez recorded four saves again for the second game in a row
ONE FOR ALL THE MARBLES
FAU and UTSA will compete for the conference crown and trip to the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, with first touch at 1 p.m. The match will be televised on ESPN+.
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