Late Flurry Gives Women's Soccer First Win

Sunday, September 19

Boca Raton, Fla.

12:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

1-6-0

Fordham

3-6-0

Fordham

FAU

9/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Sept. 19, 2010

Final Stats | Photo Gallery

Boca Raton, Fla. - Scoring twice in a three-minute span of the second half allowed the Florida Atlantic University women's soccer team to experience the thrill of victory for the first time this season in a 2-1 victory over Fordham University on Sunday afternoon at the FAU Soccer Stadium in Boca Raton.

Freshman forward Brittney Nash's winning-goal broke a tie in the 86th minute following precise passes from freshman forward Marisa Russo and senior midfielder Anhnhi Tran. Nash was found streaking down the right sideline and the Rams' goalkeeper, Rachel Suther, was drawn away from the net. Once she found a gap around Suther, Nash put a shot into the back of the open net.

"It was very nerve racking at the end of the game, but I kept my composure to allow us getting our first win," said Nash afterwards.

FAU Coach Brian Dooley was glad to see the players execute a play to perfection in the closing minutes of the match.

"It was one of the patterns we were trying to exploit during the game," said Dooley. "We wanted the weak side forward to get some space after a good connection to the midfield. Brittney maintained her composure and finished off the play."

Nash's goal culminated a hectic final 10 minutes in which the Owls found themselves trailing 1-0, following a goal by the Rams' Michelle Ancelj in the 57th minute after a shot by teammate Kelsey Dougherty Howard hit the post.

The Owls' rally began after a Fordham foul inside the 18-yard box presented a penalty kick opportunity - FAU's first shot of the second half. Freshman forward Jesse Shugg snuck the penalty shot inside the left goal post and just past the diving Fordham goalkeeper for the game-tying score in the 82nd minute.

"Today's victory seems fitting of our entire season," said Dooley, whose team improved to 1-6 on the season. "We fell behind early, only to battle back. This time we got the positive result . . . At the end of the match we possessed the ball properly, especially in the midfield, to take advantage of those scoring opportunities. This should give us some momentum heading into conference play next week."

Redshirt freshman Courtney Zwetsch picked up her first career victory in net by recording a career-high eight saves.

Senior midfielder Laura Hyvonen and Nash each tallied two of FAU's six shots in the match. Russo and Shugg accounted for the other two shots. Nash's game-winning goal was her third marker of the season - tops on the team.

Fordham is now 3-6 for the fall campaign after going 0-2 on a weekend trip to South Florida, losing to the University of Miami on Friday and now FAU.

Florida Atlantic begins Sun Belt Conference play at home on Friday, September 24 against Arkansas State University. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from the FAU Soccer Stadium. Live statistics can be viewed at www.fausports.com.