University of North Texas Athletics
Friday, October 19
Denton Guyer High School
7:00 P.M.
University of North Texas
11-1-2, 6-0-1
2
vs
1
Florida Atlantic
9-7-1, 6-1-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAU | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| North Texas | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Back On Top
10/19/2018 10:23:00 PM | Women's Soccer
DENTON — North Texas took over first place of the Conference USA standings with a 2-1 come from behind victory over Florida Atlantic Friday night in Denton.
The Mean Green gave up an early goal but tied the match up soon after and then dominated possession and opportunities in the second-half before senior Taylor Torres finally gave UNT the lead in the 69th minute. FAU entered Friday's match having only allowed two goals in conference play.
"We knew this game meant a lot and the championship was on the line but we finished our opportunities," Torres said. "This is what we've been waiting for, all of conference long."
Due to rain and wet field conditions, Friday's match was moved from the Mean Green Soccer Stadium to Denton Guyer High School turf football field near North Texas' campus.
FAU (9-7-1, 6-1-1) got on the board in the first eight minutes of the match off a free kick that found the feet of the Owls' Mary O'Hara who was able to beat Mean Green keeper Kelsey Brann with a shot to the corner. It is only the second goal Brann (11-1-2) has allowed in conference and just the fifth goal she's allowed this season.
UNT (11-1-2, 6-0-1) buckled down, though, following the FAU goal and started to find more opportunities. Less than four minutes later, sophomore Logan Bruffett would tie the match up off the assist from classmate Berklee Peters.
"Tonight every player fought hard to earn this critical win," Bruffet said. "These girls are phenomenal."
In the second half North Texas dominated. They took seven shots before FAU took any and all seven came in the first 10 minutes of the second-half.
Junior Natalie Newell nearly scored twice on two crosses into the six where her volley shots was just wide and saved. But with the opportunities coming, it was clear a goal was on the horizon.
The Owls' goalie Jennifer Ocampo didn't make it easy, though. Ocampo made a number of brilliant saves to keep the match tied but in the 69th minute, Torres got the ball at the top of the six and struck it past the FAU keeper for the Mean Green's second goal and eventual put UNT back on top in the standings goal.
"It feels good to be back on top," Torres said.
After having two early road conference matches postponed to the end of the season due to weather, North Texas has had to fight to hang in the points race while they watched other schools jumped way ahead.
Following Friday's win, the Mean Green now have 19 points and own the tiebreaker over the Owls who also have 19 points but have also played one more match.
With three matches remaining, UNT is sitting in a good position, however, they can't afford to slip up as FAU and Southern Miss (16 points) are right on its tail.
"We are excited to be in first place, but we aren't done yet," Bruffett said. "Now it's about focus and fight to finish off the season."
STANDINGS Conf. % PTs Overall %
NEXT UP
North Texas hosts FIU on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. for its final home match of the year.
QUICK SHOTS
The Mean Green gave up an early goal but tied the match up soon after and then dominated possession and opportunities in the second-half before senior Taylor Torres finally gave UNT the lead in the 69th minute. FAU entered Friday's match having only allowed two goals in conference play.
"We knew this game meant a lot and the championship was on the line but we finished our opportunities," Torres said. "This is what we've been waiting for, all of conference long."
Due to rain and wet field conditions, Friday's match was moved from the Mean Green Soccer Stadium to Denton Guyer High School turf football field near North Texas' campus.
FAU (9-7-1, 6-1-1) got on the board in the first eight minutes of the match off a free kick that found the feet of the Owls' Mary O'Hara who was able to beat Mean Green keeper Kelsey Brann with a shot to the corner. It is only the second goal Brann (11-1-2) has allowed in conference and just the fifth goal she's allowed this season.
UNT (11-1-2, 6-0-1) buckled down, though, following the FAU goal and started to find more opportunities. Less than four minutes later, sophomore Logan Bruffett would tie the match up off the assist from classmate Berklee Peters.
"Tonight every player fought hard to earn this critical win," Bruffet said. "These girls are phenomenal."
In the second half North Texas dominated. They took seven shots before FAU took any and all seven came in the first 10 minutes of the second-half.
Junior Natalie Newell nearly scored twice on two crosses into the six where her volley shots was just wide and saved. But with the opportunities coming, it was clear a goal was on the horizon.
The Owls' goalie Jennifer Ocampo didn't make it easy, though. Ocampo made a number of brilliant saves to keep the match tied but in the 69th minute, Torres got the ball at the top of the six and struck it past the FAU keeper for the Mean Green's second goal and eventual put UNT back on top in the standings goal.
"It feels good to be back on top," Torres said.
After having two early road conference matches postponed to the end of the season due to weather, North Texas has had to fight to hang in the points race while they watched other schools jumped way ahead.
Following Friday's win, the Mean Green now have 19 points and own the tiebreaker over the Owls who also have 19 points but have also played one more match.
With three matches remaining, UNT is sitting in a good position, however, they can't afford to slip up as FAU and Southern Miss (16 points) are right on its tail.
"We are excited to be in first place, but we aren't done yet," Bruffett said. "Now it's about focus and fight to finish off the season."
STANDINGS Conf. % PTs Overall %
| North Texas | 6-0-1 | 0.929 | 19 | 11-1-2 | 0.857 |
| Florida Atlantic | 6-1-1 | 0.813 | 19 | 9-7-1 | 0.559 |
| Southern Miss | 5-2-1 | 0.688 | 16 | 11-3-1 | 0.767 |
| UAB | 5-3 | 0.625 | 15 | 8-6-1 | 0.567 |
| Louisiana Tech | 4-3-1 | 0.563 | 13 | 11-5-1 | 0.676 |
| Middle Tennessee | 4-3-1 | 0.563 | 13 | 9-5-1 | 0.633 |
| Old Dominion | 4-3-1 | 0.563 | 13 | 7-6-3 | 0.531 |
| Rice | 4-3-1 | 0.563 | 13 | 6-7-1 | 0.464 |
| Charlotte | 4-4 | 0.500 | 12 | 8-7 | 0.533 |
| Marshall | 3-5 | 0.375 | 9 | 5-8-2 | 0.400 |
| WKU | 2-5-2 | 0.333 | 8 | 4-8-4 | 0.375 |
| UTEP | 2-5-1 | 0.313 | 7 | 7-8-2 | 0.471 |
| UTSA | 1-6-1 | 0.188 | 4 | 5-9-1 | 0.367 |
| FIU | 0-7-1 | 0.063 | 1 | 0-15-1 | 0.031 |
NEXT UP
North Texas hosts FIU on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. for its final home match of the year.
QUICK SHOTS
- North Texas is now 277-23-7 all-time in matches where they score two or more goals
- Torres' goal was her seventh of the season and now leads the team
- North Texas has three matches remaining and can potentially finish the conference regular season standings with 28 points, which would be a program best finish in C-USA
Team Stats
FAU
UNT
Goals
1
2
Shots
13
21
Shots on Goal
5
8
Saves
6
4
Corners
2
4
Fouls
13
13
Scoring Plays
O'HARA, Mary (4)
Assisted By: GRISSOM, Emma
GOAL by FAU O'HARA, Mary (FIRST GOAL), Assist by GRISSOM, Emma, goal number 4 for season.
7:07
BRUFFETT, Logan (1)
Assisted By: PETERS, Berklee
GOAL by UNT BRUFFETT, Logan, Assist by PETERS, Berklee, goal number 1 for season.
10:45
TORRES, Taylor (7)
Assisted By: PETERS, Berklee
GOAL by UNT TORRES, Taylor, Assist by PETERS, Berklee, goal number 7 for season.
68:39
Game Leaders
Shots
7
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
2
Shots
3
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
Goalkeeper
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