BOCA RATON, Fla. – Straight out of a scene from a movie, the Florida Atlantic University men’s soccer team (7-7-1, 3-4-0) pulled out a comeback victory over Old Dominion (3-11-1, 1-5-1) Friday night in overtime, 4-3. With Arturo Ernand’s goal at the 97th minute, the Owls beat ODU for the first time ever, while also securing a spot in the Conference USA Tournament for the first time in program history since joining the conference in 2013. The victory was the icing on the cake to a picture perfect Senior Night.
How It Was Won:
The Monarchs did not hold back in the beginning of the match, striking in the second minute to take an early 1-0 lead. As the Owls were still being held to zero shots, ODU capitalized once again in the 13th minute off a free kick to extend their lead, 2-0. At the 39th minute, the Owls brought a lot of noise in the box, getting three shots blocked until Alex Alexis came up with a golden look that slid past the ODU keeper to put the Owls within one before the half. Although the Owls started out slow, they would go into the half outshooting ODU, 9-5.
FAU had all of the momentum going into the second half and it showed, as Andres Macias delivered the equalizer at the 52nd minute to knot things up, 2-2. The Owls would get three shots off, one saved by the ODU keeper, until the 80th minute when ODU would retake the lead off a goal by the Monarch’s Hans Kroschwitz. Just as the game looked to swing in the Monarch’s favor, Joe O’Sullivan delivered his first goal of the season off an assist by Ernand with 2:10 remaining in the regulation to keep the Owls’ hopes alive.
As the drama continued to unfold, the Owls fouled in the box at the 95th minute to set the Monarchs up for a penalty kick try. As rain started to fall in Boca Raton, ODU’s Deniz Dogan squared up to the box for the penalty kick try, but it went right off the crossbar to keep the game going. With the period resuming, the steady rain turned into a downpour. At the 97th minute, Ernand lined up for an indirect free kick, which soared right past the ODU keeper’s fingertips to find the back of the net. Ernand’s golden goal was all the Owls needed to come up with a 4-3 overtime win.
Of Note:
- The Owls qualified for their first ever C-USA Tournament since joining the conference in 2013. The last time FAU made their respective conference tournament was in 2008 when they were members of the Mid-American Conference
- FAU beat ODU for the first time in program history, as the previous seven matchups had fallen in the Monarch’s favor
- Four different Owls found the end of each goal, with three players recording their firsts of the season
- Senior Alexis was one of three, as he was able to cut ODU’s lead in half going into halftime with his goal. With seven assists on the year, Alexis stands at second on the team in points scored with nine
- Macias’ equalizer at the 52nd minute also marked his first goal of his career. The sophomore now has three points on the season
- Striker O’Sullivan has been aggressive all year long and it paid off, as his goal in the 88th minute was his first of his career, as well
- Ernand had nothing short of a productive night, recording an assist and his first career game-winning goal
- Hagay Jalon recorded three saves in his fourth win of the season
- The Owls outshot the Monarchs 16-8 in the game
- FAU’s four goals became the most scored by the team against a Division I opponent since 2013 when the team scored five goals on Stetson
- The Owls’ three conference wins this season marks the most for the program since 2007 before they were members of C-USA
- FAU’s seven regular season wins is more than the past two seasons combined
Up Next:
The Owls will now prepare for the C-USA Men’s Soccer Championships taking place from Nov. 13-17 in Norfolk, Virginia. The bracket and opponents will be released tomorrow at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.
Owls on Social Media:
For complete coverage of FAU men’s soccer during postseason, follow us on Twitter (@FAUMensSoccer), Instagram (@FAUMensSoccer_) and Facebook (FAU Men’s Soccer).
– 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.
