MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – (Oct. 20, 2019) – The Florida Atlantic University women’s soccer picked up a road victory over Middle Tennessee on Sunday by the final score of 3-1 at Dean A. Hayes Soccer Stadium. The win wrapped the road portion of Conference USA play on FAU’s 2019 schedule, and the team went 3-1-1 in those five contests. They are 5-1-1 overall in league play.
The Turning Point:
FAU (11-3-1, 5-1-1 C-USA) had some tremendous chances in the first half, and finally cashed in in the 18th minute on a Gi Krstec breakaway for the early lead. The visitors outshot the Blue Raiders (6-9-1, 3-4-1 C-USA) in the first half, 12-3.
The Finish:
The Owls doubled the advantage when Mary O’Hara recorded her ninth goal of the season in the 60th, and provided further cushion when Elisha Holmes snuck one to the left of the oncoming Blue Raider keeper, off the left post and in. MT got one back on a scrum with under six minutes left, making for the final margin.
Notables:
· For Krstec and Holmes, the scores marked the second this year for each
· Tiril Haga notched the assist on the O’Hara goal, her third in 2019, and on the final score, the helper was credited to Thelma Hermannsdottir, the first of her career
· O’Hara is tied for 10th on FAU’s single-season scoring list, and her total matches the most in the Coach Baker era (Geovana Alves also had nine in 2015)
· Goalkeeper Cassidy Wasdin, the entire defensive backline of Hailey Landrus, Alex Maxson, Maddie Winch and Carolynn Wotring, and midfielder Jessica Monteiro were on for the full 90
· With the team’s 11th win of the year, that is five straight seasons hitting at least that mark
Quotable:
“Pleased because we’ve got another – back-to-back – year of a winning record on the road in conference play, which is not easy,” said head coach Patrick Baker. “To come out of our conference road trips at 3-1-1 and now we’ve got three really good games at home in front of us with a lot at stake.”
“We worked hard on defense to shut down two of the best offensive players in the conference,” said senior defender Alex Maxson. “We were able to just work together and get the end result w wanted.”
Full Video with Coach Baker:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MdQjYK5qKo
Full Video with Alex Maxson:
What’s Next:
Three more matches conclude the regular season slate, all at FAU Soccer Stadium. Two come this upcoming weekend, versus North Texas (Friday) and Rice (Sunday), with FIU the Owls’ opponent for Senior Night on Friday, Nov. 1. The matchup with North Texas will be a “Red Out,” all fans are asked to wear red and fill the stands.
– 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.
