The FIU women's soccer team picked up its first Sun Belt Conference win of the season Friday night as they came from two goals down to defeat the Indians of Arkansas State University 3-2 at University Park.

Freshman Claudia Cardenas (Visalia, Calif.) scored two goals including the game winner and fellow freshman Kassandra Sorzano (Miami, Fla.) scored one and assisted on the game winner as the Golden Panthers recovered from a first half deficit to defeat the Indians.

Sophomore Marina Pappas (Lancaster, Pa.) picked up the assist on the first two Golden Panther goals.

"It's nice to get a win, especially at home," said FIU head coach Thomas Chestnutt. "Neither team had won in a month. So both teams were very hungry for a win." 

The win improves the Golden Panthers' record to 3-9-3 (1-6-2 SBC), while the loss drops the Indians to 3-12-1 (0-8-1 SBC).

Due to the inclement weather, the autograph signing session scheduled for Friday night's match has been moved to Sunday.

ASU got on the board in the 31st minute when FIU senior keeper Jessica Vaccaro (Miami, Fla.) couldn't get the handle on the ball and Chelsea Hopkins fired it in for a 1-0 Indians lead.

The lead would quickly double as in the 33^rd minute Anna Steckle sent a through pass on the right side to Anna Klaoghirou who got behind the FIU defense, turned in and beat Vaccaro one-on-one for her fourth goal of the season.

FIU got one back before the end of the first half when Cardenas took a cross from Pappas and headed into the lower right corner for her fifth score of the season.

With the score standing at 2-1 in the 53^rd minute, Sorzano found herself open in front of the net after receiving a pass from Pappas. The freshman then netted her second score of the season as she fired a shot at a tough angle that beat the ASU keeper and knotted the score at two.

Cardenas would strike again in the 67^th minute beating the ASU keeper after a pinpoint through pass from Sorzano. The score was Cardenas' sixth of the season, and gave FIU the lead they would not relinquish.

"For the fans that braved the weather and came out, I'm glad we got a win. I think we showed them a little bit of excitement," said Chestnutt as the rain continued to fall after the match. 

Senior keeper Madeline Gannon (Ft. Myers, Fla.) came on in the second half, but was barely challenged by the ASU attack as the FIU defense held the Indians to just three second half shots, and eight overall. In turn, the Golden Panthers fired 11 attempts in the second half, and 20 on the match.

FIU returns to action on Sunday at Noon as they host the Trojans of UALR at University Park.

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