Women’s soccer: FAU defeated by Charlotte in Conference USA championship game
Owls get wiped out in a 4-0 loss against the 49ers.
Florida Atlantic won its first two games of the Conference USA tournament by a combined score of 6-2. Brandon Harrington | Staff Photographer
November 7, 2016
Arriving at the Conference USA championship game with high hopes, Florida Atlantic (6-3-1 in Conference USA) fell short against Charlotte (5-4-1 in conference) with a 4-0 loss on Sunday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
FAU entered the tournament at seed No. 4 and Charlotte at No. 6.
The Owls had a rough start to the game, beginning with an early goal by the 49ers in the sixth minute off of a Charlotte corner kick that was scored by freshman forward Julia Grainda.
The second goal came in the 26th minute with a cross by senior midfielder Kaitlin Walker and goal by senior forward Katie O’Neil. The third goal came right before the end of the half in the 43rd minute when Orr’s second assist led up to a goal by freshman forward Megan Greene.
All three goals in the first half were headers scored off of crosses.
FAU and Charlotte both had five corners throughout the game. FAU however did not capitalize on the goal scoring opportunities.
The Owls had 14 shots and Charlotte had 12. Even though FAU had more shots, only two were on goal, while Charlotte had eight.
FAU could not make a comeback from the 3-0 deficit that was brought on by the first half and allowed another goal two minutes into the second half. The fourth and final goal was again off of a corner and scored by sophomore midfielder Emily Truelove.
Road to the championship:
Although the Owls failed to gain the victory in the championship their road to it was full of success.
In their first game against Louisiana Tech, seeded at No.5, FAU dominated and won 3-0 with goals by freshman forward Elisha Holmes in the 10th minute and two from senior forward Sammy Rowland.
In FAU’s second game against top-seeded North Texas, FAU won 3-2 with goals by Rowland, Holmes, and senior midfielder Kelsey Parry.
This win took FAU into the championship game on Sunday where they met their demise.
FAU finished out the 2016 season with a record of 12-8-2 and will comeback next year with hopes of another chance at the Conference USA title.
Elyscia Saint-Hilaire is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet her at @elyscia_saint18.
