Women’s Soccer Edged Out in the Rain by North Texas

Friday, October 19

Denton, Texas

8 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

9-7-1, 6-1-1

North Texas

11-1-2, 6-0-1

FAU

North Texas

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

10/19/2018 11:01:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

DENTON, Texas – The Florida Atlantic University women's soccer team was edged out on Friday night by North Texas, 2-1. The game was moved because of heavy rains in the area for many days beforehand, and the entirety of the match was played in a heavy downpour on the field at Guyer High School.

The Turning Point:
The Owls (9-7-1, 6-1-1 Conference USA) got on the board first, and early, when Mary O'Hara was true from long range in the seventh minute, from a set piece started by Emma Grissom. It took the Mean Green (11-1-2, 6-0-1 C-USA) just under four minutes to tie, and the score remained 1-1 through the break.

The Finish:
The game-winner for NT came in the 69th on a loose ball in the box finally corralled and put into the back of the net by Taylor Torres. After that, four Owl attempts were unsuccessful; the last two, by Elisha Holmes and O'Hara respectively, were saved.

Notables:

FAU lost for the first time in league play, and lost for the first time at all since Sept. 9
Holmes and O'Hara paced the team with four shots each, both with two on goal
O'Hara picked up her fourth goal of the season, and Grissom her first collegiate assist
Jennifer Ocampo was credited with six saves, four in the second half

Quotable:
"Tonight was a battle between two very talented teams and full credit to North Texas – they competed at a higher level in the second half than we did," said Head Coach Patrick Baker. "We started well and (Mary) O'Hara scored a tremendous goal to give us an early lead. Unfortunately, they equalized shortly after on a corner kick and the next goal was going to be so important to the outcome. I thought we were in a good place at the half, but we didn't start well and struggled to get out of our end or create any fluid soccer. Giving up the eventual game-winner off a long throw was discouraging because we had seen it already on video. We knew whoever won tonight had the inside track on the regular season title and strong possibility to be the No. 1 host in the C-USA Championships. The players will have to refocus, travel tomorrow and be ready to face a very talented Rice team on Sunday in Houston. I'm proud of where we are at and still have plenty to accomplish this season."

What's Next:
The weekend trip to Texas continues a little more than four hours south, as FAU travels to Houston to take on Rice next. The Owls and Owls will square off at 2 p.m. Eastern on Sunday afternoon.