On Sunday, the Florida Atlantic Owls (7-5-5, 3-2-3 AAC) pull off a shutout win against the Rice University Owls (3-12-2, 1-6-1 AAC) in a conference matchup on the road.
In a video posted by FAU Athletics staff, head coach Patrick Baker said, “I’m proud of the girls today. Almost in a must win situation, a difficult place to play, we went up against a different system than what we are normally used to. The girls grinded out a result.”
The ball was on both sides of the pitch in the first 10 minutes of the game. As play continued, FAU was able to get a couple of shots on goal, a promising beginning.
After multiple attacks on goal with no points, FAU began to feel the pressure as both teams remained scoreless at the 30-minute mark.
FAU desperately searched for the momentum that had been found early on. With three minutes left in the first half, it appeared that’s how things would stay. This left FAU dissatisfied and ready to go back to the drawing board.
Rice came out hot in the second half with a shot on goal, but FAU senior goalkeeper Lexi Gonzalez was able to block the shot.
With 25 minutes left in the game, the defensive affair continued. Both teams looked for momentum.
With a little over 77 minutes in the game, FAU junior midfielder Sofia Voldby scored a late goal.
With little time left to respond, things began to look all but decided for the Florida Atlantic Owls.
“Sofia had the big time goal in, just the timing 15 minutes to go was the right time for it,” said Baker.
That didn’t stop Rice from taking shots on goal, keeping FAU on their toes.
With Sunday’s win, FAU is in third place in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) East and clinched the final playoff spot for the AAC Tournament starting on Oct. 31.
FAU will return home to play the University of South Florida Bulls (8-5-2, 4-1-2 AAC) on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 7 p.m. in FAU’s final game of the regular season.
“Another massive three points is at stake on the road against USF. We may still be fighting for a spot in the tournament. I am hoping for a quick turnaround and recovery,” said Baker.
Jackson Gore is a contributing writer for the University Press. For information regarding this story or others, email him at [email protected] or DM him at jackson_raton.
