Owls Find Equalizer; Force Draw vs. St. Thomas

Saturday, February 13

Boca Raton, Fla.

6 PM

Florida Atlantic

2-0-1

St. Thomas

0-0-1

St. Thomas

Florida Atlantic

2/13/2021 9:46:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University men's soccer team (2-0-1) played a hard-fought 110 minutes to draw with St. Thomas (11-3, NAIA) Saturday night, 1-0. Blake Dean struck on the Owls' goal, which was set up by freshman Fabrizio Cubeddu.

How It Was Decided

The Bobcats struck first at the 19th minute off a goal from STU's Mark Oghobgho, who beat the defender to strike past the keeper. FAU was held without a shot until the 30th minute when Daniel Skistad's attempt was just a bit high above the net. FAU would end the half with four shots in comparison to STU's three, but the Owls still trailed at the half, 1-0.

FAU started to find its groove, as Alonso Coello Camarero delivered two shots just off target and the Owls' backline held the Bobcats without a shot for the opening 30 minutes of the second half. At the 71st minute, Cubeddu set up a perfect cross to Dean, who found nothing but net for his first goal of the season. Goalkeeper Neil Strauber captured three saves in the second half, eliminating STU's chance to pull back ahead.

In the two overtime periods, both teams were only able to get one shot off apiece. The game ended in the Owls' first draw of the season, 1-1.

Of Note

Dean played in his first game of the season and wasted no time making noice. This marks his second career goal
Cubeddu earned his first collegiate point off the assist on Dean's goal
Strauber logged six saves and gave up just one goal. He holds a 0.31 goals against average on the season
Ivan Mykhailenko took four shots, one on goal, while Coello Camarero took two
Graeme Pratt has played all 290 minutes of the first three games of the season, as has keeper Strauber
The Owls are now 5-2-2 against the Bobcats in the series
St. Thomas had 17 fouls and five yellow cards in the match

Coach Worthen's Take

On the draw:
"It was disappointing," said head coach Joey Worthen. "I think we are better than that as a team. I fully credit them for coming back and getting a draw and it was the first time we have seen overtime, so there is some experience there. Some guys haven't even played in a college overtime, so that was good and they did well. I think they controlled it, but disappointing to concede how we did. I told the guys that I just think we are better than that. I'm frustrated, but they did a good job to climb back, get a draw and we are still undefeated at home."

On Dean's goal:
"He's a player and a handful to deal with, so it was good to have him back and he has a lot of energy and his pace obviously causes some problems. It was good to see him get that and Fab [Cubeddu] on the assist too. It was good for those guys to be able to be effective."

On Pratt playing all 290 minutes over first three matches:
"We feel like we have a lot of competition in the centerback spot and Graeme [Pratt] has been able to do really well. Unfortunately, Omer [Priyov] went down, so Vasilis [Spinos] stepped in and did really well in his spot. The guys in three games have already played a lot of minutes and we have to find a way to get everybody healthy and ready for Friday."

Up Next

FAU will hit the road to face Jacksonville on Friday, Feb. 19 at 3 p.m. The Owls will be back home at FAU Soccer Stadium to face Kentucky on Saturday, March 13 at 2 p.m.

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