Box Score LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? Florida Atlantic (8-7-2, 5-4 Sun Belt) scored a pair of second-half goals on Friday night en route to a 2-0 win over the UALR women's soccer team. The Trojans (4-12, 2-7) will try and keep their hopes alive for a Sun Belt Tournament berth when they host Florida International in a must-win game at Burns Park on Sunday.
The two squads played to a 0-0 standstill in the first half, as senior Ashley Boccarossa came up with a pair of saves over the first 45 minutes to keep the Trojans in the game. FAU finally broke into the scoring column in the 65th minute as Alicia Tirelli scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season off a shot in front of the goal. Brittany Comer and Alyssa Eramo were both credited with assists on the goal.
The Owls struck again seven minutes later, when Eramo headed in a corner kick from Susanna Lehtinen to make it a 2-0 contest. FAU enjoyed a 12-to-4 edge in shots on the night, while goalkeeper Megan Coyne recorded three saves en route to her second shutout of the year.
UALR entered the night tied with Florida International for the eighth and final spot in the 2006 Sun Belt Tournament. FIU's win over Arkansas State tonight means the Trojans must win on Sunday to remain in the hunt for the final spot. The two teams will meet at noon on Sunday.
“The season all boils down to Sunday. If we win we've got a very good chance to make it to the conference tournament. If we lose we're eliminated. That's the bottom line,” said UALR head coach Greg Hess. “We've got to hope the girls understand that and come out hungry on Sunday.
“I felt like we gave a good effort tonight. We just didn't create as many chances as I would have liked,” added Hess. “Errors in the back have cost us all season and that's what happened again tonight. FAU scored a soft first goal and then we didn't mark the shooter on the second goal. That's been our downfall this season and we just need to find a way to correct that on Sunday.”
