Soccer: Owls fall 3-0 to FGCU in second-to-last game of season
The team has now lost 11 straight games.
Freshman defender Ferdinand Solberg (7) directs his teammates on who to cover during FAU's Oct. 14 match against Charlotte. Lauren Sopourn | Contributing Writer
Matt Brown, Contributing Writer
FAU men's soccer fell behind early and couldn't come back against Florida Gulf Coast University, falling 3-0 Tuesday.
FGCU (8-5-3) controlled the ball early on in the first half but could not get a clear shot on the goal. That all changed in the 13th minute when midfielder Dennis Zapata followed up a blocked shot by teammate Shak Adams into the back of the net for his fourth goal of the season.
Shortly after in the 17th minute Eagles midfielder Tom Denat scored his first goal of the season off an assist from midfielder Jiro Barriga Toyama.
Midway through the half, FAU (1-14 overall, 1-6 Conference USA) almost converted on a chance. In the 28th minute midfielder junior Aaron Laranetto's shot attempt went off the top of the crossbar and senior forward Dylan Huber's follow-up shot went just wide of the net.
FGCU continued to attack late in the first half, hoping to add to its 2-0 lead. Near the end of the first half in the 43rd minute there was a span of 45 seconds where FAU redshirt junior goalkeeper Luis Aranzazu had to block three separate shot attempts.
The first was a diving save off a shot attempt by midfielder Miguel Perez which was simultaneously followed by another attempt from midfielder Jahan Rajaee. Only 16 seconds later, FGCU forward Fernando Ramirez shot a low ball which hit the inside of the goalpost and was punched away by Aranzazu.
In the second half, FAU had more shot attempts but could not put the ball into the back of the net. Things remained tied 2-0 late into the second half until the 86th minute, when Shak Adams scored on a shot just under the goalie's reach off an assist from forward Arion Sobers-Assue.
FGCU finishes their regular season with an overall record of 8-5-3. FAU now has an overall record of 1-14 overall and 1-6 in conference play.
This is the ninth time this season that FAU has been held scoreless.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us." said FAU head soccer coach Joey Worthen. "I knew coming into this program that year one was going to be the most difficult. The amount of losses I'm not really concerned about. Our goal was to get into the conference tournament and that is still a possibility going into Saturday."
With one game remaining in the season, FAU still has a chance to make the conference tournament in Norfolk, Virginia on Nov. 8. They are currently in last place, but if they win on Saturday they have one more conference win than the loser of the match on Friday between South Carolina and UAB, which gives them enough points to qualify.
FAU will face the Marshall Thundering Herd (7-7-1, 3-4 C-USA) for their last game of the regular season on Saturday Nov. 4 at 7:00 p.m.
Matt Brown is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected]
Aaron Laranetto
Dylan Huber
FAU Men's Soccer
Joey Worthen
Luis Aranzazu
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