BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Sept. 8, 2019) – Two second-half scores by Mary O’Hara propelled the Florida Atlantic University women’s soccer team to a comeback win over previously undefeated North Florida, 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at FAU Soccer Stadium.
The Turning Point:
UNF (4-1-1) took the lead late in the first half on a long free kick that bounded up and over multiple players before being corralled by an oncoming Osprey. But it didn’t take long after intermission for FAU (4-2-0) to knot things up. Elisha Holmes settled a ball on the left side of the goalbox, and her cross to O’Hara was a one-touch into the goal in the 54th minute.
The Finish:
Less than eight minutes later, O’Hara again was the recipient of a pass into the box, this time a corner from teammate Sammy Vitols that she redirected past the UNF goalkeeper for the lead. For the final nearly-30 minutes of matchplay, the Ospreys got off just one shot; all told, Cassidy Wasdin faced only five with just one save necessary for the victory.
Notables:
· O’Hara now paces the team with four goals on the season and has matched her season high set a year ago. She has 13 in her career
· Holmes and Vitols each have two assists through six matches and tie for the team lead with Carolynn Wotring
· The entire back five of Wasdin, Wotring, Alex Maxson, Maddie Winch and Hailey Landrus, as well as midfielder Jessica Monteiro, stayed on for the full 90 Sunday
· The Owls outshot UNF 18-5, with 11 shots on goal for the victorious home team
Quotable:
“It was a disappointing ending, the last five minutes of the first half,” said head coach Patrick Baker. “(At halftime), we hit the reset button, and just talked about being calm, that we were going to get chances. Just, ‘did we have our finishing boots on our not?’ We didn’t need to get everything back in the first five minutes … Nice to get that equalizer early, it did a lot for us. Probably took a little wind out of their sails. For Mary (O’Hara) to score again, great goal, and I thought that really changed the complexion (of the match).”
What’s Next:
The Owls will play their third straight match at home, with just one next weekend on Friday night against 5-0 Ball State. First kick is at 7 p.m. from FAU Soccer Stadium.
– 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.
