Women's Soccer Smothers Conference-Leading WKU, 1-0

Friday, October 14

Boca Raton, Fla.

7:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

8-6-2, 4-2-1

WKU

10-5-0, 5-2-0

Team	1	2	Final F
WKU	0	0	0
Florida Atlantic	1	0	1

10/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Oct. 14, 2016

Box Score

Tonight, #FAU's Syndey Drinkwater set the program's all-time shutout record with her 26th clean sheet in less than 3 years! Congrats, Syd!!! pic.twitter.com/z0oQUwloI4
- FAU Women's Soccer (@FAUWomensSoccer) October 15, 2016

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- On a night when Owls' goalkeeper Sydney Drinkwater set the new program standard for career shutouts, the Florida Atlantic University women's soccer team defeated the Conference USA leaders, WKU, by the score of 1-0.

Turning Point:

Freshman Elisha Holmes was in the right place at the right time for what would prove to be the game-winner. A shot by teammate Mary O'Hara pinged off of a WKU defender and the left post, but right to Holmes in the middle of the box. Her missile only 4:29 into the match found the back of the net for the early lead.

The Finish:

The Owls (8-6-2, 4-2-1 Conference USA) didn't allow the first WKU (10-5-0, 5-2-0) shot attempt until there was 4:19 to go in the first half, and only gave up five total attempts in the match. Of those, just one was on goal, easily saved by Drinkwater in the 69th minute.

Notables:

Drinkwater's eighth clean sheet of the season adds up to her 26th in just three seasons in the net, surpassing Molly Keating, who had held the mark since 2003 (a mark set in four years of action)
As has been the norm, the defensive stockade directly in front of Drinkwater -- Erica Burt, Madison Caldwell, Alex Maxson and Sophie Sanchez -- played the entirety of the possible combined 360 minutes
The backline bottled up a Lady Toppers' team that attempted over 13 shots per game coming into the night
Holmes posted the second goal of her career and first since the team's first goal of the season back on Aug. 19 (also an early score, in the sixth minute that night)
The win snapped a seven-match winless streak against WKU and is the first win by the Owls in the series since Nov. 1, 2006
A boisterous crowd of 367, which included guest coaches from many areas of campus, cheered FAU on through the final horn

Quotable:

"This was vital, we were just a game above .500 (overall) and we were a game above .500 in the conference as well," said Head Coach Patrick Baker. "A loss would have done an entirely different thing for us right now. It was a massive three points, to move up a little closer in the standings (and) to get two games above .500 in the regular season, I'm just proud of the way the girls battled."

What's Next:

The Owls' second home match of the weekend (and next-to-last home tilt of the season) is this Sunday vs. Marshall at 1 p.m. For tickets for either match, call 1-866-FAU-OWLS or visit https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/fau/EN/buy/browse?i%5B0%5D=242.