Box Score
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. ? On the strength of the return of sophomore
Madeline Gannon at goalkeeper and the first career goal by freshman
Maria Gualdron, the FIU women's soccer team shut out Arkansas-Little Rock, 1-0 on Friday night in its Sun Belt Conference opener.
With the win, FIU raises its record to 3-3-3 on the season and 1-0 in the Sun Belt Conference and UALR drops to 1-10-1 and 0-3 in the conference. The win ended a two-game losing skid and a stretch of nearly 430 minutes without a goal for the Golden Panthers.
Gannon and the FIU defense shut down the Trojans' offense, limiting them to only two shots on goal for the match. She finished the match with two saves.
In the opening half, in the 24th and 25th minutes, FIU's Tamara Kochen got off a pair of opportunities that the Trojans denied. The Golden Panthers continued to attack at the UALR defense in the 30th minute when Gualdron scored her first collegiate goal. After receiving a pass from Valerie Patrick and Kochen, the freshman from Miami fired a shot past a fully extended UALR goalkeeper Marsha Stewart for the goal. For Kochen, it is her team-leading third assist on the season.
In the second half, the Golden Panthers held off a late threat as UALR got off three shots in the final minutes of the match. Gannon made a crucial save in the 85th minute off a Stacie St. Julian shot to preserve the shutout.
With the win, FIU improves its all-time record against Arkansas-Little Rock to a perfect 6-0 mark. Next, the Golden Panthers will face Arkansas State on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Jonesboro. Earlier today, the Indians dropped a 1-0 decision to Louisiana-Lafayette and will enter the match with a 3-8 record and 0-3 in the conference mark.
