FAU men’s soccer (4-9-3, 3-4-2 AAC) lost 1-0 in their season finale against the nationally-ranked Florida International University Panthers (11-4-1, 6-2-1 AAC) at Miami on Wednesday night.

With the loss, the Owls will not qualify for the American Athletic Conference Tournament.

FAU placed a lot of emphasis on defending against FIU’s offense. The team was persistent in stopping passes from going through, and whenever the Panthers got a shot off, fifth-year goalkeeper Neil Strauber was there to swat it out.

Two of the Owls’ best chances to score took place during the 14th and 19th minutes. Senior midfielder Jose Alastuey and sophomore midfielder Leo Keller had their shots be on target, but FIU’s freshman goalkeeper Kevin Harr denied them the goalscoring opportunities.

Both teams were scoreless at halftime. FIU took six shots to FAU’s three, as the latter played physical by committing seven fouls to keep the former quiet.

It was not until the 87th-minute that FIU broke the deadlock. Sophomore midfielder Julian Hodek placed an excellent cross into FAU’s box, which junior midfielder Andrew Bennett put a solid header that Strauber could not save as it went high into the net.

The Owls were unable to find an equalizer against the Panthers’ defense before the final buzzer sounded, officially ending its 2022 campaign.

Richard Pereira is the News Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @Rich26Pereira