FAU women’s soccer team (3-2-2) defeated Florida Gulf Coast University (2-3-1) on Thursday night, 1-0.

Despite multiple opportunities for the Owls, the Eagles’ freshman goalie Olivia Molina denied every shot that was on goal. The Eagles also applied pressure on the Owls’ goalie sophomore Blythe Braun during the last minutes of the first half but Braun was a dominant force in the net with numerous saves.

A big save by Braun kept the Owls at draw with the Eagles with just 12 minutes of the first half.

“I really trust the people on the field. I really trust our bench. We have a great team, developing everywhere that as soon as someone steps on the field, we’re confident in each other,” Braun said.

FAU changed the tempo of the game in the second half with more momentum and control of the ball. The Owls created more opportunities for themselves, giving relief to their defense and goalie.

“We talked about reducing the turnovers, which were pretty high for us in the first half and our shot selection was really poor,” head coach Patrick Baker said. “We told them at halftime, we are crossing-finishing team and that’s exactly how we scored the goal.”

Just five minutes into the second half, the Owls found their footing with a goal from sophomore forward Elin Simonardottir putting the Owls up 1-0.

FAU junior midfielder Sofia Voldby had a one-on-one with FGCU’s Molina but shot far left, preventing the Owls from extending the lead.

The Owls will stay home and face the University of Tennessee (3-1-1) on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 1 p.m.

Gianna Alberti is a staff writer at the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email her at [email protected].