FAU Bows Out in Conference USA Quarterfinals

Wednesday, November 3

Boca Raton, Fla.

7 PM

Florida Atlantic

6-7-5, 4-2-2

University of Southern Mississippi

9-3-3, 4-1-3

FAUW

Southern Miss.

Photo by: JC Ridley/Owlpix.com

11/3/2021 11:01:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University women's soccer team's 2021 season came to a conclusion in the Conference USA Quarterfinals on Wednesday night. The fourth-seeded Owls were topped by the first-seeded Golden Eagles of Southern Miss, 2-1.

FAU (6-7-5) made its seventh consecutive appearance in the Conference USA Championship Tournament, which extended a streak that began in the 2015 season.

How It Happened
Southern Miss claimed an early lead just four minutes in, when Sam Stiglimair scored off a set piece from Ilana Izquierdo. The Owls had a prime scoring opportunity in the 23'. Mia Sennes controlled a bouncing ball in the box and took the shot with the keeper out of position, but a Golden Eagle defender was in position right on the goal line to make the defensive save.

A goal from USM's Blessing Kingsley in the 38th minute doubled up the Golden Eagle lead to 2-0, which they took to halftime.

FAU did not go easily into the night and made it interesting in the 88' with a Miracle Porter goal. Amber Tam lofted a pass from the center of the field that wound up at the feet of Porter. She corralled it and made a good move to gain space, then lofted a soft arcing shot that found the top right corner of the net. Southern Miss was able to keep FAU at bay in the final minute to advance to the semifinals.

Notables

Porter's goal was her seventh of the season to lead the team. She scored four goals in the final five games of the year
Porter wraps up her career with 17 goals and five assists for 39 points
The Owls had a 12-9 edge in shots as well as a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks
Tam's assist marks the first of her career as well as her first career point
FAU controlled possession of the ball 57% of the game, and had 62% of its possession time in the USM end of the field
Amit Cohen, the FAU goalkeeper, tallied four saves in net. Cohen played every second in net for the Owls in her freshman season and finishes the year with a 0.97 goals against average
Porter recorded five shots to pace the FAU attack, while Bri Austin also registered a pair of shots

Quotes From Coach Baker
"First of all, I'd like to congratulate Coach Mohammed, his staff, and his team for advancing to the semifinals," FAU head coach Patrick Baker said. "We're disappointed; I thought we did a lot of good things. I'm proud of our girls with how we kept fighting. We got one late, it was a little too late, but we played to the end. It's always hard to have the season end, it's hard to have it end at home, and it's hard to say good bye to four special seniors in Cassidy (Wasdin), Emma (Grissom), Miracle (Porter), and Sammy (Vitols). They have meant so much to our program and were part of back-to-back championship seasons. They are great individuals who have meant a lot to me, the program, and their teammates."

Full Interview With Coach Baker