Championship Flashback: Late Flurry Leads to Comeback Win

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The 2019 Florida Atlantic University women's soccer team returned to Boca Raton after four matches, and 19 days, away from their home pitch, on Friday, Oct. 11, 2019. On this night, they faced league foe UTSA at FAU Soccer Stadium, to officially reach the midway point of the Conference USA slate.

Ironically, this would only be a short stay at home, with a double shot weekend, away, immediately following (so in all, six of seven matches scheduled on the road during this stretch). Today is the fourth of a series of eight features looking back at the path to the Owls' 2019 C-USA championship. For the original recap of this match, click HERE.

Championship Flashbacks (Click to View Previous Links)
1. FAU 4, Marshall 0 – 9/19/19
2. FAU 2, UAB 1 – 9/29/19
3. FAU 3, Southern Miss 1 – 10/6/19
4. Today – FAU vs. UTSA – 10/11/19
5. Next Tuesday – FAU at Middle Tennessee – 10/20/19
6. FAU vs. North Texas – 10/25/19
7. FAU vs. Rice – 10/27/19
8. FAU vs. FIU – 11/1/19

FAU 2, UTSA 1 – 10/11/19

It was a scoreless 70 minutes of play before the Roadrunners fired the first successful salvo, at 70:01. At that point, the Owls changed shape, and it didn't take long for that strategy to pay dividends, as two scores within 1:11 of one another made for the comeback victory.

Owls' Record: 4-1-0 in C-USA, 10-3-0 overall

FAU Scoring
79:37 O'HARA, Mary (WOTRING, Carolynn)
80:48 VELTA, Pernille (VITOLS, Sammy)

Coach Baker Then (Full video)
"I really give our players a lot of credit. We changed our shape, we went for it. Very quickly after (the UTSA goal) we equalized, and very quickly after that we got the eventual game-winner … It was a nice comeback."

Coach Baker Reflects Back Now
"At the end of 90 minutes, this makes for the halfway point, five down, five to go. (And) this was only our second home game. UTSA scores in the 70th minute, you look at the clock, you're down 1-0 and I remember we changed our shape and system.

"We just immediately went for it. We had a couple of chances before that, and to the girls' credit, they stayed composed."

Key Moment or Stretch
"When we equalized, it was almost like, 'OK, let's win this.' I didn't think it would be a minute later, but they just never stopped believing. Once they equalized, they just went right at it for the winner."

Key Player – Sammy Vitols
"Sammy was really the difference. On the first goal, she makes a great run … ahead of Mary finishing it. The next sequence that we have possession, she collects it in a different position, out wide, beats the player, serves the box, and 'P' (Pernille Velta) heads it home. She had a key role in both goals."

Standings – Tied for 1st (But with one more match played than North Texas)

Next Up: Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019 at Middle Tennessee – Flashback will come next Tuesday, Oct. 20

Calendar

Upcoming Events

FAU 2, UTSA 1 – 10/11/19

Players Mentioned

Pernille Velta

Sammy Vitols

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus UTSA on September 11, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus North Dakota State on September 14, 2025 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer at Rice on September 18, 2025 at 8 p.m. EST

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus Tulsa on September 25, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus Temple on September 28, 2025 at 1 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer at East Carolina on October 2, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Florida Atlantic University Athletics