FAU women’s soccer (5-5-4, 3-1-2 C-USA) hosted Marshall University (3-9-2, 0-5-1 C-USA) Friday night at FAU Soccer Stadium and outscored the Thundering Herd in a dramatic finish of a 3-2 victory. As a result, the Owls have successfully secured their spot in the Conference USA Tournament. 

The Owls moved the ball quickly within the first 10 minutes of the match as they went for five consecutive shot attempts. After the fifth one, a foul was called on sophomore midfielder Abi Hugh and FAU was awarded a penalty kick. Graduate forward Bri Austin delivered the penalty kick goal and gave the Owls their first score of the night. 

The Thundering Herd struggled tremendously in the first half as they could not find opportunities to score and went for only one shot attempt.

Marshall was determined to redeem themselves to begin the second half and they delivered. With an assist from freshman midfielder Courtney Corcoran, junior forward Morgan White scored a goal and evened out the game 1-1. 

Senior midfielder Emma Grissom acted swiftly in response to the goal and rushed for a shot attempt, but freshman goalkeeper Mira Pastoft prevented the ball from going in.

At the 61st minute, the Thundering Herd scored their second and final goal from a penalty kick by senior forward Kat Gonzalez. 

The Owls played with tenacity and with just 25 seconds left in regulation, senior forward Miracle Porter, with help from Grissom, came in clutch with an equalizer that cruised into the top-right corner of the net.

Heading into the first overtime, neither team found a way to take the lead and close out the game. The start of the second overtime period seemed promising for Marshall as freshman midfielder Cassidy Bell set out to score with two consecutive shot attempts, but she could not connect. 

Redshirt freshman forward Mia Sennes executed the game-winning goal in the 105th minute as she received the ball from Austin, pushed past her defender, and broke the tie for FAU to seal the win.

With two matches left in the regular season, the Owls will travel to Bowling Green, Kentucky. to take on Western Kentucky University on Friday, Oct 22 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Facebook at Hilltopper Sports Satellite Network. 

Gabriella Brito is a staff writer for the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet her @gaby1brito