Owls Open C-USA Play with Draw at Coastal Carolina

Tuesday, September 21

Conway, S.C.

7 PM

Florida Atlantic

4-1-1, 0-0-1

Coastal Carolina

2-1-4, 1-0-4

Fla. Atlantic

Coastal Carolina

9/21/2021 11:09:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

CONWAY, S.C. – The Florida Atlantic University men's soccer team (4-1-1, 0-0-1 in Conference USA) commenced league play Tuesday night with a hard-fought draw with Coastal Carolina, 1-1. Playing the Chanticleers for the first time as C-USA opponents, CCU outshot the Owls 22-4, but goalkeeper Neil Strauber hung tough, delivering a career-high 10 saves at CCU Soccer Stadium.

How It Was Decided

First Half
The Chanticleers tallied three shots in the first 10 minutes of the match, but FAU had a response. Tom Abrahamsson received a delivery from Alonso Coello Camarero, which allowed him to cash in on a phenomenal goal in the high right corner of the net at the 11th minute. The Owls were held without a shot for the remaining 45 minutes of the first half, being outshot 8-1, but still held a 1-0 edge.

Second Half
The Chanticleers fought for the equalizing goal while having a tough time getting past Strauber, who logged seven of his 10 saves on the night in the second half. CCU did get lucky at the 79th minute, as Marcello Jones found the low right corner of the net for the equalizer. Blake Dean had the Owls' lone shot in the second half, but it was missed on the right side of the net. The Chanticleers had a good chance for the golden goal in the final minute of regulation, but Strauber hung tough for the save.

Overtime
The Owls were outshot by the Chanticleers 2-0 in the first overtime, but in the 99th minute, CCU's Alvaro Garcia-Pasqual was issued a red card, forcing the Chanticleers to play a man down the rest of the way. The Owls showed to benefit from playing against a 10-man squad in the second overtime period, outshooting the Chanticleers 2-1 with a shot on target by Coello Camarero and a chance by Abrahamsson that was missed right. Both teams put up a battle, which ended in a 1-1 draw.

Of Note

Abrahamsson logged his first goal of the season, second of his career. His four points is the third most on the team
Coello Camarero delivered his second assist of the season, eighth of his career. He played 102 minutes of the match
Graeme Pratt, who led the team in minutes last year, played his first full match of the season, logging all 110 minutes
Zach Hassell earned his first career start, tallying 42 minutes
Blake Dean came off the bench to play 45 minutes and deliver a shot
Strauber recorded 10 saves, the most of his career, while allowing one goal on 22 shots faced in 110 minutes of action in net

Worthen's Words of Wisdom

"I'm really pleased with the effort the guys put in tonight," said head coach Joey Worthen. "This wasn't the result that we wanted. We came here fully wanting to get three points and the win, but it's definitely a result we will take. We start out conference play with a point on the road against a really good opponent says a lot about the guys and their character and fight. We will take it and look to build on it as we play against Old Dominion this weekend."

Up Next

The Owls return to FAU Soccer Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 25, as the team hosts Old Dominion for the home C-USA opener. Live stats are available HERE, while fans can stream the game HERE with the match set for 7 p.m.

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