BOCA RATON, Fla. – (Oct. 11, 2019) – Down 1-0, the Florida Atlantic University women’s soccer team came up with rapid-fire goals in the span of 1:11 to overtake and overcome UTSA late in the second half on Friday night, for a comeback Conference USA win, 2-1.
The Turning Point:
Neither team dented the scoreboard in the first half, and it would be the Roadrunners (4-6-1, 0-4-0 C-USA) drawing first blood, angling a shot in off the left post in the 71st minute for the initial edge. But in the blink of an eye, the match was tied and then flipped. Mary O’Hara equalized for the Owls (10-3-0, 4-1-0 C-USA) at 79:37, and just over a minute later, Pernille Velta’s header gave the home team the lead for good.
The Finish:
FAU enjoyed possession for much of the remainder of the match and did not allow another UTSA shot. A corner kick in the waning seconds by the Roadrunners hit the side of the netting in a last-ditch attempt to tie.
Notables:
· O’Hara posted her eighth goal and Velta her fifth
· Both were set up by nice crosses, giving assists to Carolynn Wotring and Sammy Vitols, respectively
· Goalkeeper Cassidy Wasdin picked up the win with two saves, one in each half
· She, Wotring, Alex Maxson, Luisa Daikeler, Hailey Landrus and Jessica Monteiro were on for the full time; O’Hara played all but three minutes
· Former Owl and current member of the Scotland national team, Claire Emslie, was recognized at halftime
Quotable:
“I really give our players a lot of credit,” said head coach Patrick Baker. “We changed our shape, we went for it, very quickly after (the UTSA goal) we equalized, and very quickly after that we got the eventual game-winner … It was a nice comeback.”
“It’s necessary to keep your head up, to stay positive,” said freshman defender Luisa Daikeler of the team’s mindset after the UTSA goal. “Because there was so much time on the clock, (almost) 30 minutes, it’s enough time. You can use every moment that comes up, keep the ball rolling, and look what happens … we scored, we kept going and we scored again.”
Full Video with Coach Baker:
Full Video with Luisa Daikeler:
What’s Next:
The Owls are off on Sunday, and away next weekend: playing Old Dominion this upcoming Thursday, and a week from Sunday, traveling to take on Middle Tennessee. There are three more opportunities to see the team at home (Oct. 25, Oct. 27 and Nov. 1), wrapping the regular season.
– 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.
