BOCA RATON, Fla. – Down in south Florida, the Jacksonville Dolphins were defeated by Florida Atlantic, 2-0, Thursday evening. The loss moved JU to 1-2-1 on the young season.
After a season-opening win over Miami, Jacksonville has gone 0-2-1 in its last three games including a game cancelation at Charleston Southern. It was the third straight scoreless outing for the green and gold.
At the halftime break, Jacksonville had four shots and a pair of shots on goal, trailing the home team 7-4 in shots but winning the battle of on-target chances 2-1. The game looked quite different to the competition from last season which saw FAU scoring less than one minute in.
Julia Delprat,
Madelyn Radtke,
Saki Sanno and
Lilian Carhart all launched shots by the stoppage with Carhart and Radtke each putting one on net. Between the pipes, junior keeper
Taylor Gardner kept FAU scoreless while making one save. It was the fourth time an opponent had held the Owls scoreless at the break.
The second half went the way of the Owls early however, with FAU notching a score in the 47
th minute by the reigning American Offensive Player of the Week Hailey Santiago. The score held at 1-0 until two more Santiago goals in the game's wanning minutes.
The game flipped on its head in the second half with FAU winning the offensive battle, outshooting JU 17-9 with nine shots on target to JU's three. Gardner was peppered for the final 45 minutes of play, but stood tall, collecting a career-high five saves in her fourth 90-minute game of her JU career.
For the 'Phins, Delprat and Radtke led the team in total shots with three each. It was the third game of the sophomore Delprat's career with three or more shots, just one shy of her career high set in her first collegiate game last season.
For Radtke, it tied a season high in shots. To her credit, Sanno tied her JU-high in shots with two in her second 90-minute game as a 'Phin.
Jacksonville returns home on Wednesday, Sep. 9 to face off against the South Carolina State Bulldogs. Kick is set for 6 p.m. inside Southern Oak Stadium.
