Owls Topple Blue Raiders on the Road

Friday, April 2

Murfreesboro, Tenn.

8 PM

Florida Atlantic

-432, 311 CUSA

Middle Tennessee

-230, 230 CUSA

Florida Atlantic

Middle Tenn.

4/2/2021 10:37:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – With goals in each half and a stingy defense, Florida Atlantic University women's soccer team doubled up Middle Tennessee, 2-0, on Friday night. The Owls (4-3-2, 3-2-1 Conference USA) gained three more league points with the road victory, with just one regular season match to go.

The Beginning
For all but the very last seconds of the opening period, it was scoreless, though FAU's Hunter Koziara hit the left post on a well-struck attempt, and MT (2-3-0, 2-3-0 C-USA) did the same (albeit on the right side) on a breakaway. But Amanda Martin's perfectly-timed header with just 24 seconds left before the break put the Owls on the board.

The Turning Point:
In the 53rd, an FAU breakaway saw Miracle Porter cross across the face of the box (and past an MT defender that did the splits) to Sammy Vitols, who slotted past the keeper for a 2-0 edge.

The Finish:
The Blue Raiders had only three shots for the remaining 36 minutes-plus of the match, with two saved by Amit Cohen. FAU ran out the clock with possession, mostly in the corner, for the win.

Notables:

Martin's header was her second such goal, both in C-USA play, the other coming against Marshall
Vitols notched her first score of 2021, and had the corner kick and first assist on Martin's game-winner
The other assists were credited to Gi Krstec and Porter, for each, their first this year
Cohen totaled a career-high eight saves on the night, more than she had totaled in her first three appearances prior
Eight of the 11 Owl starters totaled the full 90' on Friday: Cohen, Martin, Vitols, Krstec, Koziara, Hailey Landrus, Emma Grissom and Amber Tam

Quotable:
"Really proud of our players tonight, they did a phenomenal job sticking to the gameplan," said head coach Patrick Baker. "We knew we were playing a very talented attacking team in Middle Tennessee, with one of the top attacking players not only in our conference, but in the country. Just really proud of (how) they found a way. Sometimes it wasn't pretty, but back-to-back clean sheets and full credit to the backline and Amit (Cohen) in goal, and the midfield worked their socks off."

Full Video with Coach Baker:

What's Next:
The Owls return home for the regular season finale, taking on FIU at FAU Soccer Stadium on Friday, April 9.