Boca Raton, Fla. - Senior midfielder Gonzalo de Mujica (Buenos Aires, Argentina) scored his second goal of the season but the Stetson men's soccer team (2-3) was tripped up by host Florida Atlantic (3-2-1) in a 2-1 defeat Sunday afternoon.
The Owls got on the scoreboard first courtesy of a Darnell King goal off a quick pass from Karol Chorak in the 25th minute; that 1-0 lead would hold up for FAU into the intermission. Stetson tied the match 1-1 in the 55th minute when a foul inside the eight-yard box resulted in the referee awarding the Hatters a penalty kick; de Mujica stepped to the spot and calmly struck the ball into the back of the net to draw Stetson level.
The tie was short-lived, however, as just over eight minutes later Chorak again found an Owl teammate for a goal, this time Gabriel Rafols, who put the game-winning goal into the lower left corner of the Stetson net. The Hatters had an 11-on-10 advantage for the final 7:43 of regulation following a Florida Atlantic red card but could not capitalize and went down to their third straight defeat.
Senior Dan Billman (Troy, Mo.) made his first appearance of the season in goal for Stetson, which was playing its second match in as many days due to a weather postponement from Friday to Saturday at FIU. He made two saves while FAU's Jeremy Crumpton stopped six Hatter shots to earn the victory.
The Hatters return home to host the Stetson Soccer Classic next weekend; action begins at 5:00 pm Friday when Jacksonville faces Temple. The Hatters take on Furman at 7:30 pm Friday to open their portion of the tournament and also take on Temple at 2:00 pm Sunday. The latter match will follow the Stetson-Furman women's soccer contest at 11:00 am as two doubleheaders are on tap next weekend at the Stetson Soccer Complex. Live Stats will be available for all matches and Hatter Vision for the three Stetson matches at GoHatters.com.
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