FAU men’s soccer (3-7-3, 2-2-2 AAC) ended non-conference play with a 2-1 defeat on the road in Fort Myers against the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles (5-2-4, 1-1-3 ASUN) on Tuesday night.

The Eagles came out the gates scoring after four minutes of play. Senior forward Aiden Jokomba found the opportunity to get the ball into FAU’s net to have Florida Gulf Coast go up early.

FAU tried looking for a response, taking four shots after conceding the goal. However, none of the attempts got past the Eagles’ defense going into halftime.

The Owls found their equalizer late in the second half. Junior midfielder Spencer Mallion and freshman forward Fritz Kleiner linked up to get the ball to sophomore midfielder Yuval Oren, who fired it into the net in the 84th-minute to improve the team’s chances.

Despite FAU’s efforts, Florida Gulf Coast took back the lead with less than three minutes remaining. Freshman midfielder Jacob Tatabe provided the ball to fifth-year forward Aedon Kyra, who scored the game-winner to help the Eagles escape with the victory.

The Owls continue their remaining set of conference matches, starting with an encounter in Memphis, Tenn., against the University of Memphis on Saturday, Oct. 22, at 8 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.

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