MIAMI - The Florida International University women's soccer team opened up the 2007 season with a 1-1 tie vs. the University of North Florida.
After falling behind to the Lady Ospreys in the 30th minute, FIU battled back and eventually equalized on the strength of a Marina Pappas (Lancaster, Pa.) goal in the 86th minute.
Defense dominated the early part of the match as neither team was able to muster any real scoring opportunities. However, UNF would change that when Elizabeth Gowen was able to slip by the Golden Panther defense to hammer in the go-ahead goal.
FIU then threatened to tie things up late in the first half when Kaley Durrance (Palm Coast, Fla.), Kristin Hurst (Miami, Fla.) and Claudia Cardenas (Visalia, Calif.) combined on a run to set up a shot for Maria Gualdron (Miami, Fla.) in the 45th minute. However, Gualdron's shot would sail wide and the Golden Panthers would end the half trailing by one score.
The second half would see FIU out-shoot UNF 5-3, but the Golden Panthers weren't able to capitalize on any scoring opportunities until late in the match. With three minutes left in regulation, Marina Pappas beat two Osprey defenders and took a bending shot from 25 yards out that would find its way to the back of the net on the lower right side.
The overtime periods saw FIU continue to dominate but not be able to put any goals on the board. FIU was able to get behind the Osprey defense several times, but wasn't able to finish any runs.
"I was really excited with the amount of effort we showed," said FIU head coach Thomas Chestnutt after the match. "Coming back from a goal down showed a lot of character and heart. We never slowed down from beginning to end. I was really happy with team effort."
Next up for FIU is a Sunday afternoon meeting with Florida Gulf Coast (1-0-0) at 1PM in Ft. Myers
