FAU women’s soccer (4-3-2) secured a late winner at home against the University of Kansas Jayhawks (6-3-0) Thursday night.

The Jayhawks headed to the Owls’ den, in rather good form, winning six of their last seven games. Their last two victories at home were over rivals Kansas City and Yale where they registered 43 shots, scored seven goals and only conceded one. 

FAU has not conceded a goal in its last two games with freshman goalkeeper Blythe Braun for her fourth start this season. She made a total of three saves and conceded her first goal of the season in the 24th minute of the first half from senior midfielder Rylan Childers from about 25 yards out. Rylan’s sister, sophomore midfielder Raena Childers, assisted on the goal.

Minutes after conceding, redshirt senior midfielder Gi Krstec equalized for the Owls. She intercepted a Jayhawk pass and dribbled the ball into the penalty area, where she shot right over the hands of Kansas’ senior goalkeeper Melania Pasar. The teams went into halftime tied 1-1 despite the Jayhawks having a 7-2 shot advantage.

Kansas looked to take control, keeping up the pressure and registering seven more shots in the second half, with FAU only taking five. Both sides began to play more aggressively, as they committed 14 fouls and drew three yellow cards combined.

FAU’s graduate forward Bri Austin went into the match with three goals and three assists in eight games. In the dying seconds of the second half, Austin fired a rocket from 16 yards, right into the bottom-left corner of the net, and secured the win for the Owls. 

The Owls will head to Denton, Texas, for their first conference game against the University of North Texas on Sunday, Sept. 18, at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on C-USA TV.

Matthew Aguilar-Lizzi is a staff writer at the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected], or tweet him @mattaguilarUP