The Hatter offense exploded on Saturday as the Stetson women's soccer team (2-4-0) defeated Florida Atlantic (1-5-0) by a score of 5-2 at home.  Junior Amber Grose led the Hatters with one goal and two assists in the victory.

Stetson fell behind extremely early in this one, but that didn't prevent the team from fighting back immediately.  A Florida Atlantic goal just three minutes and 47 seconds into the match put the Hatters behind from the word go.

Fortunately the score evened quickly as Grose played a ball through the Owl defense to a pair of streaking Hatters in the 12^th minute of play.  Freshman Mara Keomanivane was the Stetson forward who received the pass.  She evaded FAU goalkeeper Ashley Lantes and scored on the open net to tie the game at 1-1.

The Stetson offense continued to put pressure on the Owls, but it wasn't until there was just over two minutes remaining in the half that the Hatters took their first lead of the contest.  Junior Kait Jones carried the ball almost the entirety of FAU territory before playing a pass back to freshman Jorje Pierce from the endline.  Pierce easily put the ball away to give SU a 2-1 lead at the break.

There was no letting up for the Hatters in the second half, as Stetson recorded 15 shots in the frame and gave the team a total of 23 for the game.  Freshman Danielle Hurme became the third Stetson freshman in a row to score her first career goal, giving the Hatters a comfortable 3-1 lead on a long booming shot from nearly 30 yards out, assisted by Grose.

Hurme's score in the 54^th minute of play may have made things a little too comfortable for the Hatters, as FAU countered with a goal of their own just over four minutes later.  Marisa Russo's unassisted score made it 3-2.

As the Stetson offense continued to pelt FAU with shots on goal, goalkeeper Lantes did a remarkable job saving 14 of the Hatters' 18 attempts on target.  When Pierce was taken down in the box by an Owl defender, it pretty much sealed Florida Atlantic's fate.

Stetson was rewarded with a penalty kick, which Grose perfectly placed in the left corner of the net for her first of the season, and the Owls were forced to play a player down for the final 16 minutes of regulation.

The Hatters added one more score for good measure when junior Alexis Trybinski scored her first goal of the season on an assist from freshman Caroline Hurckes.  All in all Stetson scored five goals on the day.  Each was the first in a Hatter uniform for the trio of freshmen and pair of junior transfer goal-scorers.

Stetson finished with 23 shots to FAU's 13.  The Hatters recorded six corner kicks, while the Owls totaled four.  Lantes stopped 14 shots, and Stetson goalkeeper Victoria Troccoli tallied three saves.  SU improved to 2-4-0 on the season and will next host UAB on Friday, September 14 at 4:00 p.m.