BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Florida Gulf Coast University women's soccer team suffered a 1-0 setback Thursday at Florida Atlantic University.
"Just a tough loss to a good FAU club," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "We had opportunities, and I thought we played well in the first half. Credit to their keeper who made some big saves early."
The Eagles (2-3-1) battled early and nearly connected on a goal within the first five minutes of play. Sophomore Kendal Gargiula chased down a deep through ball, and her strike over the Owls' keeper doinked off the crossbar.
In the 32nd minute, sophomore Nellie Nygren's rebound strike off an Eagles' corner also had a date with the crossbar.
FGCU took a scoreless tie heading into the break. Offensively, the Eagles outpaced the Owls in shots 7-6 after 45 minutes of play.
Florida Atlantic (3-2-1) finally broke through with its game-winning header in the 52nd minute for its first-ever victory over the Green & Blue in four tries.
FGCU's second-half offense disappeared. The Eagles were only able to produce two second-half shot attempts, both occurring in the final 10 minutes of the match.
The Eagles have now been outscored 5-1 in its last three matches.
Freshman goalkeeper Olivia Molina made a sliding save in the 78th minute to keep the Eagles within striking distance. Molina led the Atlantic Sun Conference in saves (35) heading into the match and picked up six more Thursday, facing a barrage of 14 shots.
FGCU looks to rebound Sunday at Florida International University. Kickoff from Miami is set for 5 p.m.
