FAU traveled to Philadelphia to face off against Temple (2-15, 0-8 AAC) in a match of Owls. Even though it was Philly in October the weather was almost as nice as Paradise as Florida Atlantic dominated Temple in an important road victory.
Florida Atlantic had four shots on goal within the first 16 minutes. An Emmy Schleifer corner attempt connected with Jodi Smith (pictured above, Angelina LaBelle) as she put FAU ahead 1-0 in the 15th minute. Florida Atlantic had one goal in their last six matches, so an early goal was a great start for the trip in Philly.
Temple flipped the remainder of the first half on its head as they only allowed two shots, while having six shots of their own. No shots found the goal though as the lead held in favor of FAU heading into the half, 1-0.
Coming out of the half, both Owls had a combined total of seven shots within the first 15 minutes of second half play.
Hailey Santiago in open space was able to get past Temple’s Tamsin Bynoe to score an insurance goal in the 73rd minute for Florida Atlantic. Her second career goal gave FAU a 2-0 lead.
FAU had not scored more than a goal in a match since their 2-1 victory over Charlotte on Sep. 19.
Temple had no answer for Florida Atlantic as the nail in the coffin came from Sloane Young (pictured below, Angelina LaBelle) on the right side of the penalty box to give FAU a 3-0 advantage in the 80th minute.
FAU’s defense had to deal with multiple Temple attacks for the final ten minutes, but no goal was found for Temple as Florida Atlantic gained three valuable points in the City of Brotherly Love, 3-0.
It was a busy day for both offenses as FAU finished with 15 shots and 11 on goal while Temple had 14 shots and nine on goal. The 15 shots by Florida Atlantic was the largest amount in conference play this season. Lexi Gonzalez had a busy night as she had nine saves, while Temple’s Bynoe had eight saves with three goals allowed. All three goal scorers this evening scored their second goal of the season, while Drew Dempsey led FAU in shots with her total of four. Florida Atlantic also gained their fourth clean sheet of the season.
Currently, Charlotte, UTSA, and Florida Atlantic are tied for eighth in the conference. The spot is important as that is the final chance to make the American Athletic Tournament. As of now, FAU has the tiebreaker over Charlotte, but the Roadrunners and Owls face off in the final regular season match of the season on Halloween night. If all three teams gain the same amount of points over the weekend, the match between FAU and UTSA will decide the final spot of the tournament.
Florida Atlantic (3-9-4, 2-4-2 AAC) will host for the final time this season as East Carolina (6-3-6, 3-2-3 AAC) comes to Boca Raton. ECU has not had the best month as they are 1-1-2 since the start of October. If FAU can catch ECU off guard early, the Owls may have a chance to earn a victory. The final push for the postseason starts this weekend as the match is Sunday, Oct. 27, at 1 P.M.