BOCA RATON, Florida – After a 2-2 tie through two overtime periods, East Division No. 5 seed Florida Atlantic (6-6-5) needed penalty kicks to advance to the quarterfinal round of the C-USA Women’s Soccer Championship over East No. 4 seed Charlotte in a first-round game at FAU Soccer Stadium. The Owls outscored the 49ers 5-4 in PKs after a five-round shootout and two additional sudden-death rounds.
 
The victory sends the Owls to a matchup against West No. 1 seed Southern Miss on Wednesday at 7 pm ET/6 pm CT.
 
After two scoreless 10-minute overtime periods, the contest was decided on penalty kicks. After five rounds, each team had three scores. After both teams scored in the sixth round, FAU’s Mia Semmes scored on her attempt from the spot in the seventh round, and Owls goalkeeper Amit Cohen made a save of Emma Wakeman’s attempt to secure the advancement for FAU.
 
FAU took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute on a goal from Miracle Porter, and the Owls took that advantage into halftime. Charlotte’s Piper Biziorek tied the game 1-1 in the 50th minute. Florida Atlantic’s Emma Grissom scored to push the Owls ahead 2-1 in the 54th minute. Charlotte tied the game again in the 64th minute on a goal by Haley Shand.
 
Florida Atlantic outshot the 49ers (7-5-4) 17-12 overall, and the Owls had a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. Cohen had three saves in goal for Florida Atlantic. Charlotte’s goalkeeper Abby Stapleton stopped two of the Owls’ shots.
 
2021 C-USA Women’s Soccer Championship Schedule
November 1-7, 2021 – Boca Raton, Florida (hosted by Florida Atlantic)
 
Monday, November 1 - First Round
Game 1: (4W) UTSA 1, (5W) North Texas 0 (2OT)
Game 2: (5E) Charlotte 2, (4E) Florida Atlantic 2 (2OT; FAU advances 5-4 on PKs)
 
Wednesday, November 3 - Quarterfinals
Game 3: (3E) Middle Tennessee vs. (2W) Rice           (ESPN+) – 11 am ET/10 am CT
Game 4: (4W) UTSA vs. (1E) Old Dominion (ESPN+) – 1:30 pm ET/12:30 pm
Game 5: (3W) UAB vs. (2E) WKU (ESPN+) – 4:30 pm ET/3:30 pm CT
Game 6: (4E) Florida Atlantic vs. (1W) Southern Miss (ESPN+) – 7 pm ET/6 pm CT
 
Friday, November 5 - Semifinals
Game 7: G3 Winner vs. G4 Winner (ESPN+) – 4:30 pm ET/3:30 pm CT
Game 8: G5 Winner vs. G6 Winner (ESPN+) – 7 pm ET/6 pm CT
 
Sunday, November 7 - Championship Game
Game 9: Semifinal Winners (ESPN+) – 1 pm ET/12 pm CT