UM 2 FIU 1
FIU's women's soccer team dropped a hard fought match against the University of Miami, 2-1, Friday night at Cobb Stadium in Coral Gables.
The Hurricanes jumped on the board first in the 41st minute when Julianne Ricker knocked in a rebound off a shot by Paulelette Ricks-Chambers.
"Soccer's a lot about momentum and we gave them the momentum going into the half, they're at home and they're coming out with extra vigor anyway so it made the game a lot more difficult," said head coach Thomas Chestnutt. "They really played a solid game and took full advantage of the momentum."
Both teams had multiple first half chances. A breakaway by FIU's Claudia Cardenas (Visalia, Calif.) in the 27th minute was thwarted when her shot was deflected wide by Miami goalkeeper Vikki Alonzo. Miami also received an unlucky bounce when a shot by Lauren Singer caromed off of the left post and was cleared by an FIU defender.
Miami tallied their second goal when a shot by 2007 ACC Freshman of the Year Brittney Steinbruch was deflected by an FIU defender and into the back of the net. The Golden Panthers would respond in the 86th minute when Deana Rossi (New Port Richey, Fla.) knocked through a loose ball in the box off of a cross from Marina Pappas (Lancaster, Pa.). The Hurricanes would be able to waste the final four minutes off the clock to hand the Golden Panthers their second loss of the season.
"We worked hard but we've just got to put this game behind us and focus on Sunday," said Chestnutt. "The girls are learning and we'll just look at it as we're preparing ourselves for the conference."
The Golden Panthers (0-2) will be back in action against Buffalo on Sunday afternoon at 12:30 at University Park.
