Sept. 27, 2004

Coming off last week's 2-0 upset defeat of #25 Florida International, the Florida Atlantic University men's soccer team faces three games in five days this week, including the start of Atlantic Sun Conference play. The Owls (3-1) open on Wednesday with a 7:30 pm home game against undefeated South Florida before heading north to take on Jacksonville (Friday, 7 pm) and Stetson (Sunday, 3 pm) in conference action.

The USF Bulls (5-0-2), ranked 17th in last week's NSCAA/Adidas rankings, began the season with a five-game win streak that included a 3-0 victory over #5 Southern Methodist. The streak came to an end on Wednesday after a 2-2 tie with Stetson. Saturday's game against St. Louis also finished 2-2.

German-born freshman midfielder Simon Schoendorf leads the Bulls with three goals and five assists while sophomore goalkeeper Dane Brenner has a 0.79 goals against average. The Bulls hold an 8-3 series lead over the Owls and will be the second ranked team that FAU has faced this season (FIU). In the 2003 season-opener for FAU, South Florida won 4-3 in double overtime.

Jacksonville is 4-3 on the season with three of their four victories coming in tournament play. The Dolphins went 2-0 at the Seahawk Soccer Classic in Wilmington, N.C. and 1-1 at the Lehigh Nike Tournament in Allentown, Pa. and have had two home games cancelled because of hurricanes (South Carolina and Florida International). Sophomore Tommy Krizanovic leads the Atlantic Sun Conference with six goals and 14 points while senior Richard Blackburn is second in the conference with 11 points. Krizanovic scored in FAU's 3-1 defeat of the Dolphins in 2003 which reduced Jacksonville's lead in the all-time series to 9-6-1.

Stetson is on a high after defeating Winthrop 4-1 and High Point 3-1 to take the Georgia Southern Invitational title in Statesboro, Ga. over the weekend. The Hatters have also claimed a 2-2 tie against ranked South Florida, but two wins in their 5-1-1 record have come against either NAIA (Flagler) or NCAA Division II (Florida Tech) schools. Freshman Chris Cheredar leads the Hatters with four goals, all from off the bench. FAU leads the all-time series 17-8-2 and won both meetings last year, 2-1 in the regular season and 4-1 in the A-Sun Tournament semifinals.

Wednesday night's game against South Florida will begin at 7:30 pm at the FAU Soccer Field and individual ticket prices will be $4 for adults and $2 for seniors/children.