BOCA RATON, Fla.Â
– The Florida Atlantic University men's soccer team (8-5-2, 2-3-2 in Conference USA) travels to No. 12 Kentucky (10-1-4, 2-1-4 C-USA) for the final match of the regular season. FAU's C-USA Tournament hopes are on the line coming into Friday's slate of league matches and the Owls would help their case with a win. First touch is set for 7 p.m. at Wendell & Vickie Bell Soccer Complex.
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- FAU is 8-5-2 with a 2-3-2 mark in C-USA play. The team is in sixth place with eight points
- 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, which is tied for the second most in C-USA
- Luis Sailer Fidalgo has a team's best six assists
- Neil Strauber has started in 15 matches with a 1.62 goals against average, 66 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
- The Owls average 1.73 goals per game and have the slight edge in shot totals with 172 compared to an opponent's 167
- 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 No. 12 Wildcats are 10-1-4 with a 2-1-4 C-USA mark to have 10 points in the league standings
- Kentucky has allowed just seven goals all season long
- The Wildcats lost its first game of the season last weekend to Charlotte in a 2-1 overtime match
- In the C-USA Preseason Poll, Kentucky was projected to finish third
- Midfielder Marcel Meinzer and defender Robert Screen were chosen to the 14-person C-USA Preseason Team
- Luke Andrews leads the team with four goals and two assists for 10 points
- Screen has a team's most five assists
- Jan Hoffeiner has started in 12 games to boast a 0.31 goals against average with 28 saves and nine shutouts
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- Kentucky has the 9-0-1 advantage over FAU, never losing to the squad
- The Owls lost to the Wildcats 3-1 in Boca Raton last season. Mykhailenko scored the Owls' lone goal off a penalty kick in that match
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- FAU lost to FIU 4-0 in the Owls' final home game of the 2021 season
- Blake Dean had a team's most three shots
- Strauber tallied six saves, including an impressive one on an FIU penalty kick try
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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-2nd in C-USA/37th in NCAA – Goals (8)
- 5th in C-USA– Goals per game (0.33)
- 6th in C-USA – Shots per game (2.4)
- 7th in C-USA – Points (16)
Mykhailenko
- 1st in C-USA/3rd in NCAA – Shot accuracy (0.692)
- T-2nd in C-USA/ in NCAA – Game-winning goals (4)
- 3rd in C-USA – Shots on goal per game (1.38)
- T-5th in C-USA – Goals (7)
- 4th in C-USA/39th in NCAA – Goals per game (0.538)
- 9th in C-USA – Points per game (1.08)
Sailer Fidalgo
- T-5th in C-USA – Assists per game (0.429)
- T-5th in C-USA – Assists (6)
Strauber
- 1st in C-USA/22nd in NCAA – Saves (66)
- 2nd in C-USA/29th in NCAA– Saves per game (4.4)
Team
- 2nd in C-USA/31st in NCAA – Saves per game (4.53)
- 3rd in C-USA/36th in NCAA – Assists per game (2.0)
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The C-USA Tournament is next week in Charlotte from Nov. 10-14. The final bracket will be announced following the final C-USA game on Saturday, Nov. 6.
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