Florida Atlantic touched down in the land of the delta blues to face conference leading Memphis (7-6-2, 4-1-1). The Tigers came into the match with a two match losing streak while the Owls had a three match winning streak. A strong second half by Memphis led to an Owls loss in a pivotal conference match to end the streaks altogether.
The Owls had four shots in the first 15 minutes as Memphis’ offense could not find a shot. The next ten minutes were dominated by the Tigers as they occupied the attack. The final 20 minutes of the half were back-and-forth.
No goals were found in the first half, but not due to a lack of offense. Both teams had seven shots with one shot on goal.
The second half continued the same as the first. FAU took an advantage in shots which finally was able to become a goal as Noah Kvifte (pictured above, Angelina LaBelle) was able to find his sixth goal of the season to give FAU a 1-0 lead in the 64th minute.
Following the Owls goal, Francisco Ranieri made a great save to keep the advantage in favor of FAU, 1-0.
After trading attacks, Memphis’ Lucho Galizzi scored the equalizer in the 74th minute to bring the match to 1-1. The Tigers offensive attack was too strong for FAU as Lleyton Imparato of Memphis scored the go-ahead goal in the 80th minute; Memphis 2-1.
The Owls fought valiantly during the final ten minutes, but no equalizer was found as the Owls fell to the Tigers 2-1.
The offenses were hot tonight as FAU had 20 shots with three on goal while Memphis had 16 shots with four on goal. Arthur Widiez led the Owls in shots. Ranieri had two saves with two goals allowed while the Tigers’ Filip Sabatti had two saves with one goal allowed.
When it comes to the AAC tournament the top six teams make the tournament. FAU has seven points which puts them in sixth place due to their loss against Tulsa. The Owls will need UAB to lose or tie against Charlotte tomorrow to avoid falling to seventh place due to a loss against the Blazers earlier this season.
Florida Atlantic (6-5-3, 2-3-1 AAC) will play their final regular season match against Charlotte (8-1-4, 3-1-1 AAC). The 49ers rank 18th in the NCAA’s Ratings power index. Charlotte faces UAB on Sunday before heading down to Paradise. A huge matchup for tournament seeding starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2