BOCA RATON, Fla. –Florida Atlantic's Libby Wissman scored the only goal of the match midway through the second half to send the Owls to a 1-0 win over Stetson on Friday.
Wissman scored in the 65th minute when she finished a rebounded save off a shot from teammate Elisha Holmes. The Owls (3-2-0) kept the Hatters (1-2-2) off the scoreboard over the final 35 minutes to preserve the victory.
“I thought we had a somewhat incomplete performance today,” Stetson head coach Manoj Khettry said. “Our effort was consistent both halves but we weren't very clinical with our passing and our possession. I thought FAU did a good job of disrupting our rhythm and we didn't find feet consistently enough to retain possession for long periods of time.”
Stetson managed just eight shots over the course of the match, but the Hatters had some excellent scoring opportunities.
“We had three very good chances,” Khettry said. “On the first one, their goalkeeper made a great save on one of Sarah's (Collins) shots, and one on which we didn't hit the target early on. As for the last one, we didn't take our time and it turned into an easy save for their goalkeeper. The game ultimately came down to one moment on a rebound and one of their player's reacted faster than one of ours. It's the second rebound goal we've given up this year, so I hope we learn from it.”
Stetson keeper Kahri Smith faced 16 shots and made five saves, while her teammates added one.
It won't get any easier for the Hatters in their next match, as they host UCF on Sunday.
“Our effort was good tonight,” Khettry said, “but we are going to have to be a better soccer playing team on Sunday against a good UCF team. I know our players will be up for the challenge and I'm excited to see how we react and compete at home.”
Sunday's game kicks off at 7:30 p.m.
--SU--
