Sophomore forward Laura Hyvonen, a transfer from Vantaa, Finland, was named this years Sun-Belt Conference "Newcomer of the year." She was the only Owl to score in their 4-2 loss in the Sun-Belt Conference semifinal match up against Denver University.
The same award went to senior middle fielder Jannica Tjeder last season. This year Tjeder was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference Second Team along with teammate Ashley Mannarino.
It's just another reason to be proud of Lady Owls soccer.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Women's Soccer Ends Season With Loss to Top Seeded Denver University
The Lady Owls (7-10-2) had lost just once in their last eight games coming into their semifinals match up with the best team in the Sun Belt Conference, Denver University.
FAU ended their regular season with a scoreless tie against rival FIU in Boca. The Owls haven't lost to the Panthers since 2000.
FAU, the tournaments #5 seed, played Middle Tennesse State, the tournaments #4 seed, in the first round, defeating them in overtime 2-1.
That lead them to play Denver (18-2-2). With a win FAU would have played for the conference championship.
The Lady Owls were down 4-0 in the second half, when sophomore Laura Hyvonen answered with two goals in a span of five minutes.
FAU, who was 1-8 at one point in the season, couldn't muster up another miracle comeback.
A hard fought battle ended a hard fought season, and the girls should keep their heads held high.
Mens Soccer Begins Its First Ever MAC Tournament
The men's soccer team (5-12-1) will play Buffalo (11-3-4) on Thursday Nov. 13 in Akron, Ohio to being their first ever Mid-American Conference Tournament.
FAU lost to Buffalo 3-0 earlier in the season.
The Owls were the Atlantic Sun Conference Champions last season and made the transition to the MAC conference this year. They have struggled on the season, but have had some strong outings and close defeats.
The tournament takes place at the #1 team in the conference's home field. Akron is also ranked #4 nationally. Doesn't seem to fair...FAU has their work cut out for them.
Volleyball Team Faces Rival FIU Before Sun Belt Conference Tournament
Women's volleyball are 13-16 on the season. Although they won't have over a .500 record for the year, they still have a shot at bragging rights when they play at rival FIU on Saturday, Nov. 15th.
After the cross town rivalry game is played, it's on to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament that's being played from November 20-22 in Miami.
Take a drive down 95 and go support our Lady Owls.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Jarvis Era Begins in the Burrow
It was great to watch from my center court seat the Owls give their new head coach Mike Jarvis a winning return to the court in their preseason opener with a 73-69 win over cross town school Lynn University.
Fans showed up, 1,292 of them, to watch the coaching icon, who taught Patrick Ewing the game of basketball. The crowd was bigger than at any regular season game last year in the Burrow, which underwent about $10 million in renovations this summer. Good thing those extra seats were added to the east side of the gym or there might not have been enough room for everyone last game. FAU supporter's presence was felt, especially by referees with chants such as, "Hey ref, you suck," being cheered throughout the game.
Lynn University came back from being down 15 with 4:59 left in the first half to being ahead by three with just 3:13 left in the game. Good thing for the team's confidence they were able to pull out the victory in the end because most were expecting FAU to blow out the Division II opponent.
The main reason for the victory was the intense play of sophomore forward Xavier Perkins. "We wanted to come out and play harder then them," he says.
His 18 points along with senior Carlos Monroe's 21 points lead the Owls to the victory. Perkins first half dunk on a perfectly executed pass from Monroe was the top play of the night, getting all the fans off their seats.
Something to keep an eye on is the health of Perkins, who has a banged up knee, and Monroe, who has an ailing foot problem. Both said they are fine, with Monroe saying, "It's just a little foot cramp, nothing major."
A major problem throughout the game was FAU's ability to stop Lynn from scoring. They purposely played man to man defense during the entire game, but did not purposely leave open lanes all night.
Another issue was free throw shooting. Jarvis said, "It was awful. It gives us something to work on."
We'll see if their work paid off tonight at 7pm against Rollins College in the Burrow.
2008 Cross Country Sun Belt Championships
The women's finished sixth and the men's finished seventh in the 2008 Cross Country Sun Belt Championships last week in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The high scorers were women's junior Patricia Gumps (above), who finished 17th, and men's junior Taylor Reeves, who finished 23rd.
The women dropped a spot while the men improved two spots from last year's championships.
Their last time competing for the 2008 season will be at the NCAA South Regional Tournaments on Saturday, Nov. 15 in Maryville, Tennessee.
Golf Teams Take Final Competitive Strokes Until Spring
Men's and women's golf finished second and fourth, respectively, completing their fall schedule for the 08-09 year in Deland, Florida this past week. Their spring tournaments start in February.
All five of the men's competitors ended in the top 20, the top half of the field. Sophomore Kelly McHugh (top left) had the low score for the Owls ending in fifth place. The winner of the tournament was host school Stetson.
Stetson also won the women's tournament. FAU overcame Bethune Cookman's two stroke lead going into the second and final day of the event, advancing to fourth overall.
Both coaches are happy with the play of the teams, with women's head coach Joan Joyce saying the need for an improved putting game is a weakness that begs for attention, but the overall play has been great.
Hopefully the winter break won't make the golfers swings too cold once Spring play comes around in a couple of months.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
