Soccer Gains a Point on the Road at South Carolina

Sunday, October 3

Columbia, S.C.

7 PM

Florida Atlantic

6-1-2, 1-0-2

South Carolina

3-6-1, 0-2-1

Fla. Atlantic

South Carolina

Photo by: ©JC Ridley/Florida Atlantic

10/3/2021 9:53:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Florida Atlantic University men's soccer team (6-1-2, 1-0-2 in Conference USA) remains undefeated in C-USA play following a 2-2 draw at South Carolina (3-6-1, 0-2-1 C-USA). FAU was up on the Gamecocks two different times in the contest, but South Carolina responded each time. The Owls leave Columbia with a point and have gotten off to their best start in C-USA play in their first three matches.

How It Was Decided

First Half
Both sides took some time to get rolling on the offensive side of the ball. At the 12th minute, South Carolina had a chance, but an FAU defender got in there to stop the threat. South Carolina was outshooting FAU 3-0 at the 17th minute, but moments later, Davide Romeo found Filip Jauk who headed in the ball for his sixth goal of the season. The Owls' 1-0 lead was short-lived, as the Gamecocks tied the game off a free kick at the 24th minute. This marked the first goal the Owls let up in 211 minutes of action on the pitch. FAU was looking for an opportunity to pull ahead before the half, being aggressive with four shots in the final five minutes of the first half.

Second Half
The Gamecocks were beginning to have a lot of action in their box, but an FAU takeaway at the 58th minute started to flip the momentum in favor of the Owls. At the 67th minute, the Owls won a one-on-one battle, as Luis Sailer Fidalgo found Ivan Mykhailenko who buried the ball in the low right corner of the net. Not long after, the Owls made an unfortunate mistake, resulting in a Gamecock goal to knot up the game at two. After 90 minutes of play, extra time was needed in a 2-2 game.

Overtime
Both sides had minimal attempts to find the game-winning goal, as South Carolina outshot FAU 1-0 in the first overtime period. South Carolina looked for the game-winning attempt off a corner kick, but the shot was missed to the right, and the game was sent to a second overtime. In the second period of extra time, FAU had great chances following a free kick, but the Owls were unable to connect with the back of the net for the game-winning goal. Both side were held without a shot in the second overtime, resulting in a 2-2 draw.

Of Note

Jauk delivered his sixth goal of the season, which is tied for a league's most
Mykhailenko logged his fifth goal of the season, 18th of his career. He is now tied for eighth in program history for most career goals
Romeo picked up his third assist, seventh point, in his impressive freshman season
Sailer Fidalgo has been playing great ball in his sophomore campaign, delivering his sixth assist of the season. One more assist and the defender will crack the top-10 in single-season assists
Neil Strauber picked up two saves on the night
Alonso Coello Camarero, Vasilis Spinos, Tom Abrahamsson, Sailer Fidalgo and Strauber played all 110 minutes in the match
At 1-0-2, the Owls are off to their best start in C-USA play since joining the league in 2013
The Owls now have five points in the C-USA standings

Worthen's Words of Wisdom

"I'm disappointed for the guys," said head coach Joey Worthen. "It was an opportunity we fully coming into expected to get three points. We didn't want to settle for the draw, we wanted to get the full three points. I think because of the quality of team we have and the way we have been playing, we should have been able to get the three points. We came up a little bit short, so that's disappointing; however, we still do pick up a point and now we look to bounce back as we prepare for Marshall with another great opportunity. I'm confident that the boys will be able to respond off of tonight's performance and be ready to come out against Marshall."

Up Next

FAU embarks its biggest test of the season, as the team hosts the reigning NCAA men's soccer champions, Marshall, on Saturday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.

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