Women’s Soccer Hangs a Seven-Spot on Howard

Thursday, August 27

Boca Raton, Fla.

5:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

1-2-1, 0-0-0

Howard

0-1-2, 0-0-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Howard	0	0	0
Fla. Atlantic	3	4	7

8/27/2026 8:18:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Behind multi-goal efforts from Hailey Santiago and Maiya Castillo, and a goal and two assists from Lola Hathorne, Florida Atlantic women's soccer defeated Howard on Thursday night at FAU Soccer Stadium by the final score of 7-0.

THE TURNING POINT
The Owls (1-2-1) got on the board early with two quick goals by junior striker Santiago. Her first came at the 2:23 mark, and the other just 2:31 later. Nearing the break, freshman Sephora Joachim converted a penalty kick at the 30-second mark to give the home team a 3-0 advantage.

THE FINISH
An FAU flurry in the 62nd minute pushed the edge to five, with two scores in just 12 seconds. Hathorne fed Santiago to complete her hat trick, and almost immediately after, Hathorne herself scored, with Santiago returning the favor and notching the assist. In the 74th, Castillo got in on the action with a score off another assist from Hathorne. Then, after VAR disallowed an Owl goal off the crossbar and nearly over the endline, just 17 seconds later, Castillo's score was confirmed via another review as the Owls' final tally.

NOTABLES

Santiago's hat trick is the first by an Owl since Thelma Hermannsdottir against UTEP on Oct. 7, 2022. That was also the last team FAU scored six or more goals; the last seven-spot was a 7-1 victory over Grand Canyon on Aug. 25, 2019.
Santiago recorded five shots, matched by Hathorne during her one-goal, two-assist effort.
Hathorne and Joachim each provided their first collegiate goal, for Castillo, she registered her second and third in her fourth career game.
Lily Holden, in her first college start, and Kendall Pechacek, in her first college appearance, combined for the clean sheet. That's the first on the Owls' side since Oct. 24, 2024.
Holden had the team's only two saves, as FAU outshot Howard, 25-4.
All told, 24 Owls saw the pitch, with just four playing 65 or more minutes (Cicely-Ann Spencer-Wickham at 73, 69 from Selena Gaytan, and 67 each for Holden and Sydney Neira).

QUOTABLE

A chat with Coach after tonight's victory pic.twitter.com/aoPkmAXMx7
— Florida Atlantic Women's Soccer (@FAUWSoccer) August 27, 2026

PHOTO GALLERY

Gallery: (8-27-2026) Women's Soccer vs. Howard

WHAT'S NEXT
The Owls are back on their home pitch this Sunday afternoon, hosting No. 20 Florida. Kickoff is 1 p.m., and the match will be televised live on ESPN+.

FOLLOW THE OWLS
To stay up to date on all things Florida Atlantic women's soccer, follow the team on social media @FAUWSoccer.

#WIP