MIAMI- FIU opened the 2007 season as they battled the Falcons of Bowling Green for 110 intense minutes en route to a scoreless tie Friday night at University Park.

Both teams had their share of scoring opportunities, but neither squad was able to capitalize on them. FIU finished with nine shots while Bowling Green had 12 attempts.

FIU's first scoring opportunity came in the 11^th minute of play when a corner kick by freshman David Stovall (Tampa, Fla) set up a header by senior Raoul Voss (Muhlheim, Germany) that would sail wide left.

Bowling Green would then threaten to take the lead when Hunter Van Houten's corner kick was headed by Jacob Lawrence; but the scoring chance was thwarted by sophomore goalkeeper Kyle Thomas (Jenses Beach, Fla.) who came up with the goal-saving stop.

The Golden Panthers would make another run late in the first half, when sophomore Juan Guerra (Caracas, Venezuela) dribbled past the defense and into the box to set up a shot by junior Levi Coleman (Broken Arrow, Okla.) from the right wing; however, Falcon goalkeeper Paul Shomaker was there to make the save.

Bowling Green's best scoring chance would come in the 50^th minute when Ryan Perera set up his twin brother Alec Perera for a shot that bounced of the left pole. Chuko Evwaraye controlled the rebound and turned it into another Falcon shot, but Kyle Thomas would again make the save.

In the 88^th minute of play, Juan Guerra nearly put the Golden Panthers on the board when he dribbled past the Falcon defense and into the box only to see his shot from the left wing sail high past the net.

But that wouldn't be the last Golden Panther threat of regulation as freshman Steven Jair Cabas (Miami, Fla.) sent in a shot with 7 seconds left in regulation. However, Falcon goalkeeper Shomaker was there to end the threat and send the match into overtime.

It looked as if the Golden Panthers had the victory in hand in the 97^th minute when Levi Coleman took a cross from Cabas and fired a shot that was stopped by Shoemaker, but slipped through the Falcon goalkeeper's hands and slowly rolled towards the net. However, Shoemaker recovered in time to stop the ball just short of the line.

Defense would dominate the rest of the overtime as neither team managed to put up a score.

For FIU, Levi Coleman had three shots and Kyle Thomas had two saves.

On the Bowling Green side, Jacob Lawrence led the team with three shots, and Paul Shoemaker ended the night with four saves.

The Golden Panthers return to action on Sunday afternoon when they face the Kangaroos of Missouri-Kansas City at 1PM at University Park.