With only four matches left the Owls needed to gain points to stay in contention for the AAC tournament. A tough task to do against Memphis, but FAU needs the points to enter into postseason play. Sadly, a rainy day in Paradise set the mood for the Owls as Florida Atlantic was overrun offensively by Memphis (7-6-2, 4-1-1 AAC) falling 1-0. After five minutes of play the rain picked up. The first half continued with windy conditions and off and on rain. The Tigers took an early advantage as Ashley Henderson struck with her left foot towards the bottom left of the goal in the 16th minute: 1-0 Memphis. Memphis had more opportunities in the first half, but FAU’s defense was able to stand tall to only allow three shots on goal for the Tigers. Lexi Gonzalez had two saves as the first half ended 1-0 with Florida Atlantic searching for their first shot attempt. Within the first seven minutes of the second half Memphis had three shots, none found the net as the Owls still trailed 1-0. The first opportunity for Florida Atlantic came in the 56th minute as two shots within ten seconds were sent off by Noa Oliva Ganthier (pictured above, Angelina LaBelle), and Sutton Markee (pictured at top, Angelina LaBelle) but neither shot made it past the Memphis defense. In the final ten minutes, FAU had two shots, but neither one found the goal as both were off target. The Owls could not find an equalizer and fell to Memphis 1-0. It was a dominant offensive showing by the Tigers. Memphis had 14 shots with eight shots on goal. Florida Atlantic’s Gonzalez had seven saves on the day while giving up one goal. Kaylie Bierman of Memphis had one save as she had a fairly easy evening. The Tigers had three corner attempts while FAU had two attempts. Four separate Owls had a shot attempt, but only Sutton had the shot on goal. FAU (2-9-4, 1-4-2 AAC) travels to Philadelphia to face Temple (2-14, 0-7 AAC). Temple has not had a superb season, but for an FAU team in need of points, there is no reason Florida Atlantic cannot earn a win. There are three matches left in the season and FAU currently sits 11th out of 12 teams. To qualify for the AAC tournament a team must finish in the top eight. The match between Temple and FAU is Thursday, Oct. 24 at 7 P.M.
