FAU men’s soccer (4-8-3, 3-3-2 AAC) took down the nationally-ranked Southern Methodist University Mustangs (9-4-1, 5-3-0 AAC) 2-1 to get a needed win in conference play on Friday night.

After 15 minutes of solid defense, FAU got things started with the first goal of the game. Senior midfielder Blake Dean passed the ball to senior defender Tom Abrahamsson, as he provided a solid cross for freshman midfielder Sebastian Zettl to fire the ball into the net.

SMU equalized in the 40th-minute. After an unsuccessful corner kick saw the ball go out of FAU’s box, sophomore defender Kyran Chambron Pinho fired it back inside to score an excellent stunner.

The Mustangs struck four shots at fifth-year goalkeeper Neil Strauber throughout 35 minutes of the second half. Luckily for the Owls, he did not let up as he denied each of those attempts.

Thanks to its persistent defense, FAU rewarded itself with the game-winner in the 81st-minute. Sophomore defender Chadi Mayati linked up with senior forward Victor Claudel, who crossed the ball inside SMU’s box to freshman forward Andreas Raisanen, who tapped in his third goal this season.

In desperation mode, the Mustangs nearly got an equalizer in the 88th-minute. However, their strike from graduate midfielder Knut Ahlander hit the right side of the goalpost as FAU held them off to secure the win.

The Owls will conclude their regular season by traveling down to Miami to face Florida International University on Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 7 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