MIAMI (June 19, 2017) -- FIU Head Women's Soccer Coach Sharolta Nonen completes her full-time coaching staff with the hiring of former Mexican Women's National Team member and Arizona Wildcat Jazmin Ponce to join the program. Ponce coached for one season as the volunteer assistant at Long Beach State in 2015.
 
"I am excited to join the FIU staff as an assistant coach and help the team build as a whole," said Ponce. "I want to bring my professional knowledge to help the student-athletes grow as professionals and also help the coaches with my abilities to improve the program. I have known and worked with (current assistant) Brian (Periman) while at Arizona and I am excited to tag-team with these coaches to create a successful team."
 
Ponce was a four-year starting forward at the University of Arizona where she garnered First-Team All-Pac-12 honors in both of her last two playing seasons. Periman was an assistant during her sophomore campaign in 2012.
 
"We are very excited to complete our FIU women's soccer coaching staff with the addition of Jazmin Ponce, making us one of the only Division I staffs in the country with all three coaches possessing professional and/or international playing experience," said Nonen. "Jazmin's expertise and national team experience will give us the extra attacking advantage we need to be successful. She has a big heart and is great with people. Jazmin is also extremely competitive so she will fit right in with our staff and with our vision for the FIU women's soccer program. We are very fortunate to have a person and player of Jazmin's caliber on staff and we are all looking forward to this fall."
 
She left her mark in the Wildcat career record books, finishing her career as the all-time leader in shots taken (268), tied for third in goals (23) while fourth in points (53). Eight of her career goals were game-winners.
 
She earned a spot on the Mexican Women's National Team prior to a trip to China for the Youngchuan Cup in February of 2014. Ponce continued to play in Mexico and the United States throughout the year. 
 
Ponce was a four-year letterwinner at Redondo Union High School. She was twice named her team's MVP. Ponce played club for Force SC before joining Surf Soccer Club. She was also a member of the ODP Cal South Team for four years. 
 
Ponce graduated from Arizona in 2014 with a degree in family studies and human development.
 
She is continuing work towards a master's degree in clinical social work from Our Lady of the Lake University.
 
FIU's first regular-season contest is scheduled for August 20.
 
For women's soccer ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWSoccer) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUWSoccer) for all the latest FIU women's soccer news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Lime Court at FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute.  FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.