Women’s Soccer Knocks Off Ball State

Friday, September 13

Boca Raton, Fla.

7:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

5-2-0

Ball State

5-1-0

Ball State

Florida Atlantic

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

9/13/2019 10:40:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Florida Atlantic University women's soccer handed Ball State its first loss of the year Friday night in a 1-0 decision at FAU Soccer Stadium. That marks the Owls' third straight win, and five out of six, all coming against opponents that had been undefeated coming into the match.

The Turning Point:
It took less than six minutes for the Owls (5-2-0) to get on the board, and the defense would hold strong to keep the slim edge. Pernille Velta played a ball up to the sprinting Elisha Holmes, who cut across the face of the goal and found Mary O'Hara to her left. O'Hara's blast, past the BSU (5-1-0) keeper, was her fifth of the year and third in the last two outings.

The Finish:
The FAU defense clamped down to the tune of allowing zero Cardinal shots for the entirety of the match, and while the offense had chances to add on to the lead, nine more shots on target (and 18 overall attempts) were turned away. Still, O'Hara's goal stood as lone tally, and game-winner, over the final 84:04 of the contest.

Notables:

O'Hara continues to pace the team with her five goal tally on the year
The forward duo of Holmes and Velta each recorded the assist, Holmes' third, and Velta's first of 2019
Reigning C-USA Goalkeeper of the Week Cassidy Wasdin stayed in net for the match's entirety, and was joined for the full tilt by Alex Maxson and Hailey Landrus. Jessica Monteiro came out in the 87th
In addition to the 18-0 shot advantage, FAU had an 11-1 edge in corners
The Owls are now 5-1 against a group that came in with a combined record of 17-0-1

Quotable

"Everybody does their research on each other," said head coach Patrick Baker. "We talked about maybe trying to manufacture an early goal and make (Ball State) a little uncomfortable, make them come from behind … and we were able to do that. They're a good team, they're well-coached, and they're going to win a lot of games this year. I thought we defended really well, defended in the right areas, were quick in transition and created opportunities."

Full Video with Coach Baker:

What's Next

The five-match homestand concludes this upcoming weekend, with the first of two at FAU Soccer Stadium on Thursday night when the Owls play their 2019 Conference USA opener against Marshall. The weekend will then wrap on Sunday, hosting out-of-conference foe Creighton.