The FAU women’s soccer team (2-2-2) suffered a late 1-0 defeat in Fort Myers against the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles (2-3-0) Sunday afternoon.

The Eagles came off a loss against the University of Central Florida (UCF) over the weekend, conceding three goals in Orlando. The Owls were the clear favorites to walk away with the three points due to their ability to create real attacking chances and to defend their net very well, as they have only conceded one goal since losing 4-0 to Alabama in the season opener. 

In the first half, FAU was the stronger side, creating a total of seven scoring opportunities in the half compared to FGCU’s one shot. The Owls passed the ball around well, controlled the tempo and kept possession for a majority of the 45 minutes..

It was a completely different game in the second half, however. The Owls let their foot off the gas, allowing the Eagles to take full advantage and make the game more competitive. 

FAU had six shots in the second half, four of them from graduate forward Bri Austin who highly contributed to the squad but was unlucky in front of goal. FGCU had seven total shots that half with three on target, with senior midfielder Paradis Grace as the standout player of the game.

Grace had two shots that came in the second half, both of which were on goal. In the 88th minute, she fired her second shot of the game past junior goalkeeper Lexi Gonzalez to secure the three points for the Eagles. 

The Owls will travel to Memphis, Tenn., to take on the University of Memphis Tigers on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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