BOCA RATON, Fla.Â
– The Florida Atlantic University men's soccer team (8-4-2, 2-2-2 in Conference USA) is set to play host to No. 17 FIU (10-2-2, 5-0-1 C-USA) on Saturday at noon. The team will be honoring eight seniors prior to the start of the match, the Owls' final home contest of the 2021 fall season.
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- Going into the final two matches of the regular season, FAU is 8-4-2 with a 2-2-2 league mark. The Owls are an eight-win team for the first time since 2005 and have picked up back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2003 and 2004
- Filip Jauk leads the Owls with eight goals for 16 points. His eight goals is tied for the most in the league
- Luis Sailer Fidalgo holds a team's best six assists, which is the fourth most in the league
- Neil Strauber has started in 14 matches with a 1.46 goals against average, 60 saves (most in C-USA) and four shutouts
- Davide Romeo and Jauk were named to the Top Drawer Midseason Top 100 Freshman List. Romeo came in at No. 44 and Jauk is No. 56
- FAU is sixth in the C-USA standings with eight points
- The Owls average 1.86 goals per game and have the slight edge in shot totals with 164 compared to an opponent's 153
- FAU was projected to finish sixth out of nine teams in the C-USA Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league's head coaches
- Alonso Coello Camarero and Ivan Mykhailenko were tabbed to the 14-person C-USA Preseason Team
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- The Panthers come into Saturday with a 10-2-2 record and an undefeated 5-0-1 mark in C-USA play
- FIU stands at No. 17 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll
- In the 2021 C-USA Preseason Poll, FIU was chosen to finish fifth
- Stephen Afrifa and Bernardo Dos Santos lead the Panthers with six goals, apiece. Afrifa has a team's most 15 points while Dos Santos follows with 13
- Julian Hodek has recorded a team-leading seven assists
- Tyler Hogan and Grant Makela have shared equal time in goal. Hogan has logged a 1.11 goals against average, 23 saves and two shutouts. Makela has posted a 0.82 goals against average with 17 saves and three cleansheets
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- FAU trails in the series, 37-5-2
- The Owls dropped last year's C-USA opener at FIU, 2-0. FAU outshot FIU 13-9, but could not get past the Panthers
- FAU last defeated FIU on Sept. 14, 2013 at home in a 2-1 decision
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- FAU is coming off two straight road wins with the last one Tuesday in a 1-0 victory at North Florida
- At the 57th minute, Tom Abrahamsson took the Owls' corner kick to find Vasilis Spinos, whose shot was rebounded and fell in Mykhailenko's lap. Mykhailenko buried the goal and that was all the Owls needed for the win
- Strauber was credited with three saves and the shutout
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Mykhailenko
- 2nd– Career game-winning goals (10)
- T-5th – Career goals (20)
- T-9 – Career all-time points (43)
Strauber
- 5th – Career goalkeeper wins (14)
- T-5th – Career shutouts (6)
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Jauk
- T-1st in C-USA/31st in NCAA – Goals (8)
- 3rd in C-USA– Goals per game (0.571)
- 4th in C-USA – Shots per game (2.5)
- T-4th in C-USA – Points (16)
Mykhailenko
- 1st in C-USA/4th in NCAA – Shot accuracy (0.692)
- 2nd in C-USA – Goals per game (0.583)
- 2nd in C-USA/11th in NCAA – Game-winning goals (4)
- 3rd in C-USA – Shots on goal per game (1.5)
- T-3rd in C-USA – Goals (7)
- 6th in C-USA – Points per game (1.17)
- 10th in C-USA – Shots per game (2.17)
Sailer Fidalgo
- 4th in C-USA – Assists per game (0.462)
- 4th in C-USA – Assists (6)
Strauber
- 1st in C-USA/27th in NCAA – Saves (60)
- 2nd in C-USA/36th in NCAA– Saves per game (4.29)
- 3rd in C-USA – Shutouts per game (0.214)
Team
- 2nd in C-USA/38th in NCAA – Saves per game (4.43)
- 2nd in C-USA/32nd in NCAA – Assists per game (2.14)
- 3rd in C-USA/38th in NCAA – Points per game (5.86)
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FAU wraps up the regular season slate with a road contest at Kentucky. The Owls will kick off at 7 p.m. in Lexington with the game being streamed on ESPN+.
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