After losing to Jacksonville University four times since he came to Florida Atlantic, the fifth time was the charm for FAU women’s soccer Head Coach Brian Dooley, as his team shutout JU by a score of 1-0 on Oct. 26.
“The win was big, and very important for us,” Coach Dooley said. The win moved his team into second place in the conference, and if they win their last conference game of the year versus Gardner-Webb, they’ll be guaranteed a second seed in the conference tournament and a first-round bye in the tournament.
But even though Gardner-Webb is out of the conference tournament and ranked eighth with a 3-5 conference record, Dooley will make sure not to overlook them.
“Gardner-Webb actually is a good team. Their scores in conference have not been blowouts,” the Head Coach said.
He also knows that they have nothing to lose because they aren’t going to the conference tournament.
“They’re going to be playing for pride, and we’re coming in as one of the top teams,” Dooley said.
FAU is going into that game not only as one of the top teams in the conference, but also as a team that’s hot. They’ve won ten of their last eleven games and are on a 6-game winning streak. Moreover, all six victories were shutouts.
The Lady Owls were able to achieve this success with solid defensive play and great goaltending.
After the 1-0 shutout of JU, goalkeeper Molly Keating’s goals against average (GAA) dropped to .95. The updated ranking for GAA in the Atlantic Sun wasn’t available, but Keating’s is one of the highest. Recently, she was ranked fifth in the conference in that category with a 1.07 average.
She was named Atlantic Sun Conference player of the week on Oct. 21. The previous week she had shutout conference opponents Samford and Stetson. Including those two matches, Keating only allowed three goals in eight conference matches.
The defense in front of Keating, led by players like Rhonda Jones, Krista Fine, and Lauren Lucena, has played a big part in all of the shutouts.
Coach Dooley said the defense put forth a great effort versus JU. “Defensively we were blocking shots. Krista Fine was running things down,” he said. “Lauren Lucena, in the midfield, made a statement, saying ‘don’t sub me,’ just by her performance. I mean, she was up the field, she was down the field, she was crashing headers, and she was tackling.”
Dooley said that when the other players watched the efforts of players like Lucena and Fine, they were instilled with the will to win. When the Lady Owls play that way they’re successful, and hope to continue that success in the post season.
