Owls Push Past Incarnate Word in Season Opening Win

Thursday, August 26

Houston, Texas

6:30 PM

Florida Atlantic

1-0-0, 0-0-0

Incarnate Word

0-1-0, 0-0-0

Incarnate Word

Fla. Atlantic

8/26/2021 9:46:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Atlantic University men's soccer team (1-0) took down Incarnate Word (0-1) in the Owls' season-opening match at the Houston Baptist University Tournament. Freshman Filip Jauk scored the game-winning goal in the latter part of the first half to pull the Owls ahead in a 1-0 shutout victory.

How It Was Decided

First Half
UIW got two shots off, one of which was saved by Neil Strauber, in the first two minutes of the match. That was all the Cardinals could salvage for the first half, as FAU's backline held tough the full 90 minutes of play on Thursday night. At the 43rd minute, UIW's Nils Roth fouled an Owl in the box to set up FAU for a penalty kick try. In his first collegiate match, Jauk stepped up to take the PK and found the back of the net. He tallied FAU's first goal of the season and the first for his career, as the Owls went into halftime outshooting the Cardinals 5-2, while up 1-0.

Second Half
FAU's backline continued to showcase a strong performance, holding the Cardinals to one shot in the 68th minute. The Owls saw nine different players account for the team's 14 shots, five of which were on target on the night. Although the Owls were unable to find the back of the net in the second half, Jauk's goal was all the team needed for the shutout and a 1-0 start to the season.

Of Note

Jauk's goal marked the first of his career. He finished the night with two shots in 37 minutes played off the bench
Defender Vasilis Spinos and goalkeeper Strauber were the only two players to stay on the pitch for all 90 minutes. Spinos tallied two shots, one of which was on target
Nine different Owls got off shots with Jose Alastuey, Alonso Coello Camarero, Jauk, Spinos and Pontus Steffensen each tallying two
Strauber captured one save while facing three shots
Five different players made their Owl debuts in H-Town, including Tim Bernhardsson, Davide Romeo and Steffensen, who each started. Zach Hassell and Jauk saw their first action in an FAU uniform off the bench
The shutout marks the third consecutive season the Owls have commenced the season with a 1-0 win. FAU took down North Florida in the spring 2021 season and upset No. 17 James Madison in the 2019 season, both by a 1-0 score

Coach Worthen's Take

"I'm really pleased with the team tonight," said head coach Joey Worthen. "We started the season exactly how we wanted to with a win and a clean sheet! We played a lot of guys and I'm really happy with everyone's performance. Now we are looking forward to Sunday!"

Up Next

The Owls will finish the HBU Tournament, as they play host Houston Baptist on Sunday, Aug. 29 at 9 p.m. Eastern. Follow along with live stats HERE and live stream HERE.

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