Sept. 28, 2004

BOCA RATON, FL - Florida Atlantic University returns home for a three-game homestand after six straight road games. The Lady Owls face Florida International University on Tuesday before taking on Atlantic Sun opponents Belmont University on Thursday and Lipscomb University on Saturday. FAU, ranked 15th in the Southeast Region by Soccerbuzz, is 3-3-2 overall and 1-2-0 in the A-Sun.

The Lady Owls returned from their last road trip with a loss against Campbell and a win against Gardner-Webb. The team's defensive unit allowed only eight shots combined for both games. FAU outshot Campbell 14-4 but fell in the team's fourth overtime match in six contests. Michele Fazzari scored her first career goal while Janine Aylward moved into a tie for fifth place for all-time assists at FAU.

The Lady Owls fell behind early against Gardner-Webb, allowing a goal within the first six minutes of play for the fourth time in five matches. The team, however, scored three goals in three minutes to start the second half. Kari Fernandez scored her second goal of the season while Christina Chang scored her first game-winning goal of the year and assisted on the final goal by Denise Brolly to put the game away. Chang leads the team with four assists and eight points and is second in the A-Sun in assists per game (0.50) and third in assists.

Fernandez moved into seventh place for all-time games played and 11th place for all-time points at FAU while Chang, with the three points against the Bulldogs, moved into 14th place all-time for points recorded.

FIU (2-5-0) holds a 17-1 all-time series lead but meets the Lady Owls for the first time since 2002, when FAU defeated the Golden Panthers 4-0. Florida International is led by Janessa Taddei, who leads the team in shots (13), goals (5) and points (10).

Belmont (3-5-1, 1-1-0 A-Sun) will be looking for its first win against FAU. The Bruins have lost three consecutive games to the Lady Owls by a combined score of 21-2. Last year, FAU defeated Belmont, 5-0, as Chang recorded the first three-point game of her career and Denise Brolly recorded her first three-point game as a Lady Owl with a goal and an assist. Belmont has been outscored by its opponents, 17-6, having lost two games by five or more goals. The Bruins are led by Amy Johnson, who leads the team in goals (2), points (4) and shots (9).

Lipscomb (3-7-0, 0-2-0 A-Sun) is meeting FAU for only the second time ever. The Lady Owls defeated the Lady Bisons, 3-0, in their meeting last year. Chang started her string of six consecutive games with at least one point, the second longest streak in program history, with her third goal of the season while Aylward recorded two assists, including the game-winning assist, and Kelly Hoffmann recorded her first assist of the season. Lipscomb has been outscored by its opponents, 29-12, this season. Dusty Shandy leads the team with four goals, eight points and 25 shots while Jill Pennington leads the team with two assists.

Individual ticket prices are $4 for adults and $2 for seniors/children. For ticket information, call 866-FAU-OWLS.