Florida Atlantic University Athletics
Owls Prepare for First Conference Road Test
10/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 7, 2009
BOCA RATON, FL - The Owls received their stiffest test of the season last Saturday when the top-ranked Akron Zips visited FAU Soccer Stadium and showed why they are the unanimous No. 1 team in the country.
Akron handily defeated FAU 3-0, however, the Owls were able to take some positives from the match as they held the Zips scoreless in the second half despite being a man down for most of the period. The team has had several days to recover from the loss and now they are using it to build towards the remainder of their conference schedule, which begins on Saturday in upstate New York.
The Owls will visit Hartwick for their first conference road test of the season at noon on Saturday. FAU enters the match with a 4-3-2 record on the season and are paced on offense by sophomore forward Darnell King, who has tallied six points so far this season (2 goals, 2 assists). King scored a total of two goals last year and has already eclipsed his 2008 point total of five.
On the defensive side of the pitch, the Owls have been anchored in net by a pair of newcomers. The freshman duo of Jeremy Crumpton and Ciro Martinez have started all nine games for the Owls in goal. Crumpton has gotten the majority of the playing time with seven starts as the Orlando, FL native has surrendered just five goals this season. Crumpton and Martinez have combined to tally 34 saves and have allowed a meager 0.93 goals per game so far in 2009.
After Saturday's game against Hartwick, FAU will return to the Florida sun and take on in-state rival South Florida next Wednesday before returning home next Saturday night for their second conference home match of the season against Western Michigan.
