CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Florida Atlantic University men’s soccer team (9-7-3, 2-4-2 in Conference USA) fell to No. 4-seed Kentucky (14-1-4, 3-1-4 in C-USA) in a heartbreaker, 2-1, in the C-USA Championship Title game. At the end of regulation, the score was knotted up at 1-1, but UK delivered the golden goal at the 94th minute of overtime to claim the title. The Owls put on a historic run in the tournament, making noise all week long as the No. 6 seed. Ivan Mykhailenko, Tom Abrahamsson and Alonso Coello Camarero were tabbed to the C-USA All-Tournament Team.
HOW IT WAS DECIDED
First Half
The Owls did not waste anytime offensively, as FAU led UK in shots, 2-1, in the first 12 minutes of play. At the 16th minute, Jose Alastuey received a long ball from the other way and took the ball down just outside the 18. Alastuey found Pontus Steffensen on the left side, who beat his defender to cross to Mykhailenko. Once again, Mykhailenko was at the right place at the right time, delivering a sliding shot that found the back of the net. FAU took an early 1-0 lead. Both sides held each other off, as no shots were taken for over 20 minutes. At the 36th minute, UK found a good look for the equalizer, but Chadi Mayati got his knee on the ball to knock it out for the defensive save. FAU went into the intermission with the 1-0 lead, as both sides were tied with three shots, apiece.
Second Half
To open up the second half, UK had another great look at the equalizing goal, but Neil Strauber came in with a leaping save to stop the Wildcats’ attack. An Owl mistake in UK’s penalty box led to a penalty kick try for Marcel Meinzer who converted to tie the game at the 60th minute. UK continued to control possession throughout the second half, but FAU’s defense continued to hang around tough. At the 80th minute, Strauber delivered another great save to keep the score at bay, 1-1. At the end of regulation, UK had the edge in shots, 12-4, and the Owls approached their second overtime game of the tournament.
Overtime
The Owls took their first corner kick of the game at the 92nd minute, as FAU looked to pick things up offensively. Coello Camarero then delivered the first shot in overtime, but it came out just left off target at the 93rd minute. On UK’s next possession, the Wildcats delivered the golden goal at the 94th minute to stop the Owls’ from pulling off their third upset of the tournament. FAU dropped to UK in overtime, 2-1.
OF NOTE
- The Owls’ goal was just the ninth the Wildcats have given up this season, as the team is leads the nation in goals against average
- Mykhailenko logged his second consecutive game with a goal, tallying three shots in the game. He has nine on the season, 22 on his career to claim the fourth most in school history
- Steffensen delivered his second assist of his freshman campaign, while Alastuey logged his fourth of the season
- Strauber, who had a great performance for the Owls in the tournament, registered four saves on 13 shots in the match
- Mayati delivered a stellar defensive save
- Abrahamsson, Coello Camarero, Mayati, Davide Romeo, Vasilis Spinos and Strauber played all 94 minutes of the match
WORHTEN’S WORDS OF WISDOM
“First of all, congratulations to Kentucky, to Johan [Cedergren], his staff and their players. They are a really good team and a group I have a lot of respect for, so congratulations to them,” said head coach Joey Worthen. “The game was difficult. I think the first half we played really well. We defended well and scored an excellent goal. Going into the half up 1-nil is a great spot to be in and says a lot about our guys because Kentucky doesn’t give up goals easily. That was the ninth goal of the year they had given up. That was a good job for us, but then in the second half, we knew they were going to throw everything at us and we had to defend well, which we did, and then the penalty just makes the difference in the game. I think that gave them some momentum and it was just an unfortunate play that gets them back into the game. You could tell at the end of the game, our guys were just trying to hang on. We were so tired and I compliment all of our guys because they gave everything they had, not only in this game, but in the two previous games. It just took every bit out of us and we were tired, which came into us not being able to connect passes and get out of our end a bit.
“For the game, I’m so pleased with our team. As an unbelievably great group of young men that I’m honored and humbled to be able to be their coach. They played for each other. They played as a team and they left it all out on the field. It strings and it’s a lot of pain and hurt because of the result, but I could not be prouder of what they have done throughout the course of the season, but really in this tournament. They played at another level and that just speaks volume for the character of this team and they have really been able to elevate this program to another level. Our standards and expectations within this program changed now and that’s credit to these young men and we are going to continue to build on that.
“Again, I couldn’t be prouder of our team, my staff has been fantastic, they deserve a lot of credit and put in a lot of work that goes in behind the scenes. I’m humbled and considered an honor to work with them, so they deserve all the credit as well. I’m grateful for all of the support from FAU. For Brian White to come up to the game was really special and all the support we felt from the alumni and all of FAU has been special. This is a special group and we are all proud to be Owls and continue to build off of this.
“I’m really grateful for our seniors and all that they have done to help get the program to where it is now. They have certainly left their mark on this program and we are grateful for everything they have done.”
UP NEXT
The 2021 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament selection show is set for tomorrow at 1 p.m.
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