Southern Miss Soccer Prepares for C-USA Tournament Semifinal Against FAU on Friday

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HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss women's soccer team (12-5-1, 5-4-1 C-USA) will face Florida Atlantic (12-7-1, 8-1-1 C-USA) in the first semifinal match of the 2018 Air Force Reserve Women's Soccer Championship in Norfolk, Va. at 4:30 p.m. (ET)/3:30 p.m. (CT) on Friday, November 2.

The last time out
The Golden Eagles kicked off their conference tournament journey with a 1-0 shutout against No. 3 seed UAB.

Southern Miss' win against UAB on Wednesday afternoon marked their 12^th win of the 2018 season, setting a new single-season program record for total wins.

The match was a hard-fought battle the entire 90 minutes of play. Both offenses had very minimal scoring opportunities due to the outstanding defensive play from each team.

Sophomore midfielder Miah Zuazua who has been the top goal scorer for the Golden Eagles all season long, put her team on top 1-0 with just a little over 12 minutes remaining in the match. Zuazua rocketed a ball past UAB's all-time saves leader Kelsey Daugherty after just one touch on a pass from Hannah Abrams. Abrams was credited with the assist.

Zuazua's goal at the 78:08 mark of the match was her sixth game-winning goal of the season. Zuazua's six game-winning goals scored are the most by any C-USA player this season.

Although Zuazua scored the lone goal of the match, the Southern Miss defense combined with the goalkeeping of Kendell Mindnich were key factors that resulted in a win for the Golden Eagles.

Like they have done so many times this season, the Golden Eagles' backline led by veteran defenders Ola Akinniyi and Ashton Stennis delivered on the biggest stage of the season. The defense notched their 10^th shutout of the season, extending their single-season school record.

Mindnich recorded four saves in the contest, none bigger than the one that she saved in a one-on-one situation in the second half of play to keep the Blazers off of the scoreboard.

Mindnich recorded her sixth save of the season and is now tied with Anna Snyder as Southern Miss' all-time individual saves leader.

Breaking down the all-time record
FAU leads the all-time series 3-1-0. The Golden Eagles are 1-0-0 when facing FAU at home in Hattiesburg and 1-2-0 in contests played in Boca Raton. Friday will mark the first time that Southern Miss and FAU have played each other at a neutral site.

The last meeting on the pitch
The last time that Southern Miss and FAU met on the pitch was September 30, 2018 at the FAU Soccer Stadium in Boca Raton, Fla. The Owls came away with a 2-0 home victory over the Golden Eagles.

Ebba Blomqvist scored the first goal of the match for FAU on a penalty kick at the 46:03 mark of the match.

Pernille Velta added an insurance goal for the Owls at the 61:24 mark on an assist from Mary O'Hara.

The opponent
Under the direction of sixth-year head coach Patrick Baker, the Owls finished the regular season as C-USA Regular Season Co-Champions along with North Texas. After leading the Owls to a very successful season, Baker was named C-USA Coach of the Year for women's soccer.

FAU defeated Middle Tennessee in a 2-1 overtime thriller in the first quarterfinal match of the C-USA Women's Soccer Tournament on Wednesday.

With Middle Tennessee leading 1-0, Tiril Haga scored the equalizing goal for FAU at the 59:51 mark of the match on an assist by Sammy Vitols.

With the scoreboard reading 1-1 at the end of regulation play, FAU and Middle Tennessee entered overtime where they played just over three minutes before FAU's Emma Grissom netted the game-winning goal to send the Owls to the semifinals. Pernille Velta and Mary O'Hara were credited with the double assist on the goal by Grissom.

What's on the line
Southern Miss will still be chasing history when they take the pitch against FAU on Friday afternoon as they will be seeking the first C-USA Tournament Semifinal victory in program history and first berth in the C-USA Tournament Championship match.

The Golden Eagles will also be looking to extend their single-season win record to 13 wins.

After tying Anna Snyder as Southern Miss' all-time single-season individual shutouts leader with her sixth shutout of the season on Wednesday, sophomore goalkeeper Kendell Mindnich will have the opportunity to become the all-time single-season individual shutouts leader with a shutout against FAU on Friday.

In addition to the ESPN+/live stats links provided, fans can follow the tournament action via live updates through the official Southern Miss soccer Twitter account (@SouthernMissSoc).

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Southern Miss Soccer Prepares for C-USA Tournament Semifinal Against FAU on Friday

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Players Mentioned

Hannah Abrams

Ola Akinniyi

Kendell Mindnich

Ashton Stennis

Miah Zuazua