The FAU women’s soccer team (10-7-3, 5-4-1 C-USA) advanced to the semi-finals in the Conference USA Tournament after a dominant 4-1 win against the Louisiana Tech University Lady Techsters (7-9-3, 5-3-2 C-USA) on Wednesday evening. This marks FAU’s first appearance in the semifinals since 2019.

Redshirt senior midfielder Gi Krstec did not waste any time to give the Owls the early lead just nine minutes into the first half. The goal came off the rebound of graduate forward Bri Austin.

In the 10th-minute, Krstec doubled the lead off a pass from junior defender Luisa Daikeler. The C-USA midfielder of the year sent a powerful shot right over the Lady Techsters’ sophomore keeper Sydnee Korchak. That was Krstec’s seventh goal of the season.

In the 30th-minute, LA Tech managed to get a goal back from junior forward Kalli Matlock. The Techsters registered four shots against FAU junior goalkeeper Lexi Gonzalez in the half, where she saved three out of the four.

“Gi was phenomenal early with two goals that really elevated and lifted us,” said FAU head coach Patrick Baker after the game. “We let them back in with a mistake that resulted in a goal, but to start the second half, I said to them, ‘We can start the second half the exact way we started the first half.’”

FAU went into the second half with the 2-1 lead. In the 61st-minute, Bri Austin went down in the box for a penalty kick as senior defender Hailey Landrus scored the spot kick to extend  the Owls’ lead to 3-1.

Five minutes later, Daikeler passed the ball to Austin just a few yards outside the penalty area, where she fired a shot through the keeper to put the game away, making it 4-1 and getting her second goal of the night and eighth this season.

“We had a great set piece to get Bri the ball and she got fouled,” said Baker. “Hailey showed class as a senior, stepping up and hitting the [Penalty kick], then Bri had an unbelievable goal to put the nail in the coffin. We’re really pleased, we scored a lot of goals, got a lot of players in and most importantly stayed healthy, so now it’s on to the semifinals.”

The Owls will play Charlotte in the semifinals, which will take place on Friday, Nov. 4, at 7 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