How they finished in 2019: 15-4-2 (8-1-1 C-USA), won the regular-season title, lost 5-2 in the final of the Conference USA tournament to North Texas.

Maintain consistency on both sides of the ball

Offensively, FAU had the fourth-most goals scored with 43 as the team averaged 2.05 goals per game, ranking them sixth in the conference. 

The leading scorers for the Owls in 2019 were midfielder Mary O’Hara with 14, forward Pernille Velta with nine, and forward Sammy Vitols with seven. With the first two having graduated, Vitols will be seen as a vital scorer for FAU in her senior year.

FAU was average on defense, tieing with two teams for seventh in goals allowed with 24 as 1.14 goals were conceded per game, putting the team at sixth in the conference.

If the Owls can find a way to improve on both sides of the ball and be consistent with their play throughout every game this season, there should be no doubt they can rank in the top three on offense and defense in the conference.

Assert dominance at home

It would be an understatement to say FAU played great at home; in fact, the Owls dominated opponents at FAU Soccer Stadium in the 2019 season.

Their 10-1-0 record at home that year is proof that the Owls are difficult to beat when the game is on their pitch.

With six home games this season, it should be expected that FAU wins most of these games without much difficulty as long as they are prepared for all of them.

C-USA Championship aspirations

Even though the Owls topped the conference winning the regular-season title in the process, getting to the final of the C-USA tournament was no easy feat.

It involved having to win an intense penalty shootout in the Quarterfinals against Louisiana Tech and surviving a double-overtime dogfight in the Semifinals, winning 4-3 against Old Dominion.

Even though their 2019 season ended in heartbreak losing 5-2 to North Texas, the Owls should use that loss as motivation to return to the final this season.

With aspirations of winning the C-USA Championship and qualifying for the NCAA tournament on their minds, the Owls should be watched closely to see how far they can go with the talent they have on the squad.

Record Prediction: 9-1-1 (5-0-1 C-USA), contender for the C-USA Championship and the NCAA tournament.

FAU will kick off its season by hosting Utah Valley at FAU Soccer Stadium on Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on C-USA TV. To view its schedule, click here.

Richard Pereira is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @Rich26Pereira.