Krstec’s Last-Minute Goal Lifts FAU Over UTEP

Saturday, October 9

El Paso, Texas

9 PM

Florida Atlantic

4-5-4, 2-1-2

UTEP

3-9-0, 1-4-0

FAUW

UTEP

10/9/2021 11:47:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

EL PASO, Tx. – A clutch 88^th minute goal from Gi Krstec lifted the Florida Atlantic University women's soccer team over UTEP on Saturday night. The Owls improved to 4-5-4 including 2-1-2 in Conference USA action, while the Miners dipped to 3-9-0 and 1-4-0 in C-USA action. After tonight's win, the Owls stand in fourth place in the C-USA East.

The Dramatic Finish
It appeared as if the Owls were heading into their seventh overtime game of the season, however the game-winning goal from Krstec broke the scoreless tie. Hailey Landrus sent a ball up the left side, and Bri Austin won the challenge from a UTEP defender. Austin pushed it all the way to the goal line and sent a perfect low pass that found an open Krstec in the center of the box. The junior midfielder punched in a low right shot to break through and put FAU in front with less than two minutes to play.

Key Plays
The Miners had an opportunity in the 82^nd minute with the ball about 10 yards out from the net, but Landrus was in position to block the shot. In the 66', UTEP used some nifty passing to setup a clean opportunity, yet Amit Cohen registered a key save to keep the zero on the board. In a sign of things to come, Krstec had a shot in the 72' that sailed a couple of feet wide from the net.

Notables

Cohen tallied five saves on the evening to register her third shutout of the year
The Owls' strong defensive play continued with tonight's match. With the zero, FAU has now allowed one or no goals in 11 of the 13 matches this season.
FAU had the edge in shots by a 12-9 margin
The Owls took seven corner kicks and did not surrender any corners to the Miners
Krstec's goal was her first of the season and the fifth of her career
Austin's assist puts her at eight points on the season to lead the team

Quotable
"We're really proud of the girls tonight," FAU head coach Patrick Baker said. "We knew that UTEP is far better than their record shows and they've had a lot of close contests. I thought we did some good things tonight…I thought that we did a good job at inserting players, and they came through in the big moments. It was a really good ending for us after a lot of frustration in our last few conference games."

"Hailey (Landrus) played a good ball out of the back, and Bri (Austin) forced it on by and was on the run," Baker said on the game-winning goal. "Their other center back had to rotate over at the end line, and Bri showed composure, cut it back, and Gi (Krstec) finished it first time. We're really proud of the shutout for Amit (Cohen), the defense, and the team overall. We're really happy for Gi, she's been working hard and had her chances to score in every game. She's a tremendous player, arguably one of our best players, and we needed that moment of magic tonight to get the victory."

Full Video With Coach Baker

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What's Next
FAU will return to action at home on Oct. 15 to face Marshall at 7:00 p.m.

Conference USA Tournament on the Horizon
FAU will serve as the host for the 2021 Conference USA Women's Soccer Championship. The tourney scheduled to begin on Nov. 1 with the championship match to be held on Nov. 7.