Scoring three times in the opening 13 minutes, nationally ranked University of Florida led the way for a 3-0 victory over the Florida Atlantic University women’s soccer team on Friday evening.  This marked the second straight road match that the Owls have found themselves behind early.

“Putting yourself behind against a good team causes you to always chase the action,” said Brian Dooley, FAU’s head women’s soccer coach.

“If we don’t give up those early opportunities, possibly it is a different game. The kids kept battling though the rest of the match, and that continues to be an encouraging sign.”

Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Courtney Zwetsch came off the bench to record seven saves and didn’t allow a goal. It marked the first game action for the Lutz, Fla. native.

“For her first game action, Courtney put on a spectacular performance,” Dooley said. “A couple of her saves were huge. It was nice to see her come in and perform well.”

FAU’s four shots in the match were spread evenly across freshman defender Allyson Buerosse, freshman forward Alexandra Major, redshirt sophomore midfielder Meghan Brown and senior forward Laura Hyvonen.

After trailing 3-0 at halftime, FAU and Florida battled to an even second half.

Florida started the scoring in the third minute as McKenzie Barney found the back of the net on a seven-yard shot following crisp passes between Taylor Travis and Tahnai Annis. Annis put the Gators up 2-0 in the sixth minute with her third goal of the season.  Finally, Natalia Torosian scored in the 13th minute.

The Owls stand 0-2 on the season and will open the home portion of the season on Friday, September 3 against Robert Morris University, starting at 7 p.m. Live stats can be viewed at www.fausports.com.