Paradise Brew 9/22: Paint Paradise Red

The Florida Atlantic football team will play host to Memphis at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, and fans are encouraged to wear red.

September 22, 2025

Good Morning, FAU Family. Florida Atlantic football will play host to Memphis at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, at Flagler Credit Union Stadium.

FAU fans are asked to wear red in support of the Owls, who are playing the Tigers for the first time as members of the American Conference. The game will serve as the league opener for the Owls.

Saturday Scoop:

Saturday, Sept. 27
🏈 Football vs. Memphis @ 7 p.m. TV: ESPN2 | Radio: Fox Sports 640 South Florida | Watch | Listen | Tickets

What else do we have mixed into today’s Brew? Check it out below!

⚽️ Men’s Soccer Gets Win Over Temple to Open Conference Play
🌊 Swim & Dive Sweeps Indian River
⛳️ Men’s Golf is Receiving Votes
🏐 Owls VB Wrapped Nonconference Play With a Sweep
🦉 And much, much more

🔼 Goal-Oriented. Now that’s the right way to start conference play:

🥅 Goal + assist for Aboubacar Traore
⚽️ Goal + assist for Kerfalla Toure 
1️⃣ First goal as an Owl for Francesco Aiello

Florida Atlantic finished with a 20-6 edge in shot attempts and an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal. Alfred Mikkelsen made one save to earn his fifth victory of the season.

Next up: FIU pays a visit to the FAU Soccer Stadium Friday night:

Friday, Sept. 26
⚽️ Men’s Soccer vs. FIU @ 7 p.m. TV: ESPN+ | Watch | Live Stats

🚨 ⚽️ To make it even more exciting, the squad hit a huge milestone: 3️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ 👇🏼

🔼 Got Out the Broom 🧹. The Florida Atlantic Owls wrapped up non-conference play on Saturday, earning a straight-set sweep against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats, 3-0, inside the Elly. As a team, the Owls dominated in every statistical category, leading the Wildcats in kills (47), hitting percentage (.347), assists (44), service aces (10), digs (41), and blocks (4).

STATS & NOTES

  • Olivia Hart and Anna Hartman led the Owls offensively. Hart hit .500 and posted a match-leading 17 kills, while Hartman hit a match-best .571 and recorded 13 kills.

  • Emsley Venard led the Owls in assists, dishing out a match-high 20.

  • Isabelle Northam was the Owls' digs leader, tallying a team-best 13 digs.

🔼 Don’t Sleep On FAU Men’s Golf. Fresh off a victory in its first event of the fall, Florida Atlantic men's golf will look to make it 2-for-2 at the Graeme McDowell Invitational hosted by UAB beginning Monday in Oneonta, Alabama. The Owls received 15 votes in the initial Bushnell/Golfweek Top 25 Coaches Poll. Limestone Springs will play as a par 72 at approximately 7,000 yards.

See the graphic above for the lineup.

🔼 Got Out the Broom, Swim Edition. The Florida Atlantic men's and women's swimming and diving teams opened the 2025-26 season against Indian River on Friday, with the Owls sweeping the competition.

The men outscored the Pioneers 186 to 113, while the women put up 223 points compared to Indian River's 77.

The highlight of the season opener came during the men's 100 free when senior Daniel Laureyssens broke an 11-year school record. He later lowered his own school record during the 400 free relay with a time of 43.28.

🔼 Who’s Your Hero? Nominate your hometown heroes for FAU Football’s Hometown Heroes spotlight presented by SERVPRO of South Palm Beach. Winners will receive tickets to the game and will be celebrated on the field for their contributions to our community.

🗳️ Nominate your hero here!

🤓 ‘Bout That Bowl. With the announcement about playing host to Memphis this Saturday, today’s trivia asks: These two teams have played each other in two bowl games—the Montgomery Bowl and what was the other?

Have a guess? Scroll to the bottom to find out!

Owls on the Radar. For the first time in program history, the Florida Atlantic men's golf team is receiving votes in the Bushnell/Golfweek Division I Coaches Poll. The Owls, along with Northwestern and Stanford, earned 15 votes toward a place in the Top 25, slotting them into a tie for No. 39.

The Owls started the fall season with a team victory at the Myrtle Beach Golf Trips Intercollegiate, led by individual Top 10 finishes from Biagio Gagliardi (2nd), NaShawn Tyson (T3), and Guilherme Grinberg (T8). They head to Alabama today for the Graeme McDowell Invite hosted by UAB.

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*All Times Are in ET

Monday, Sept. 22
⛳️ Men’s Golf @ Graeme McDowell Invitational (Oneonta, Alabama) | Live Scoring

Tuesday, Sept. 23
⛳️ Men’s Golf @ Graeme McDowell Invitational (Oneonta, Alabama) | Live Scoring

Wednesday, Sept. 24
🏐 Volleyball @ South Florida (Tampa, Florida) @ 6 p.m. | Live Stats

Thursday, Sept. 25
⚽️ Women’s Soccer vs. Tulsa @ 7 p.m. | Watch | Live Stats

Friday, Sept. 26
👟 Men’s X-Country @ FSU Invitational (Tallahassee, Florida) @ TBD
👟 Women’s X-Country/Track & Field @ FSU Invitational (Tallahassee, Florida) @ TBD
⚽️ Men’s Soccer vs. FIU @ 7 p.m. TV: ESPN+ | Watch | Live Stats

Saturday, Sept. 27
🏈 Football vs. Memphis @ 7 p.m. TV: ESPN2 | Radio: Fox Sports 640 South Florida | Watch | Listen | Tickets

Sunday, Sept. 28
🏐 Volleyball vs. East Carolina @ noon | Live Stats
⚽️ Women’s Soccer vs. Temple @ 1 p.m. TV: ESPN+ | Watch | Live Stats

🦉 Go here for the complete Florida Atlantic University Athletics Calendar

Paradise Trivia is brought to you by Choice Mortgage Group, the Official Mortgage Lender of Florida Atlantic Athletics.

The Answer: New Orleans Bowl!

The two teams have met twice previously, both in bowl competitions. FAU defeated Memphis in the teams’ first meeting back on December 21, 2007, by a score of 44-27 in the New Orleans Bowl, but then fell to the Tigers by a 25-10 score on December 23, 2020, in the Montgomery Bowl.

🦉 Have a great week, Owl Fam!