BOCA RATON - The FIU women's soccer team saw its record-breaking season end on Wednesday in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. No. 8 seed UALR scored in the first minute and a half of overtime for a 1-0 win.
"At the end of the day we as a team can be happy with the things that we have achieved, however I think I speak on behalf of the team when I say we weren't completely satisfied," senior Amy Jackson said. "I'm excited for the girls that have more time here at FIU because with the potential that we have here, I think big things are going to happen in the future."
After the squads battled through a scoreless 90 minutes, UALR's Kamiya Merrick had a one-on-one look at the goal. Freshman goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage came out to meet her, but Merrick drilled it into the back of the net for the win.
The Golden Panthers dominated offensively for most of the first half, drawing five corners to UALR's one. They nearly scored off one of the opportunities when April Perry fed it to Katrina Rose 18 minutes into the first half. Rose took a shot but the Trojans managed a team save.
Rose later broke downfield with the ball with Jackson running alongside her left. She passed the ball to Jackson, who fired, and the shot sailed wide left with nine minutes remaining in the half.
FIU continued the attack in the second half, taking 10 shots on goal. Within the first two minutes, Thaisa Moreno dribbled from midfield to the top of the box, but her shot was saved.
With 29:30 to go, Deana Rossi maneuvered through the middle and dished it to Perry on the right side. Perry cut in and shot, but Jane Picarelli again came up with a save. Less than three minutes later, Perry inserted the ball from the right side to Moreno, whose header was deflected.
"I feel like nothing went right for us today, and it's not like we weren't shooting because we had a whole bunch of good shots," senior Marina Pappas said. "But it was great to accomplish what we did. I think we set standards and expectations for years to come. It will be exciting to see how FIU women's soccer does over the next couple of years. I know i'll be keeping up with it."
Jessica Gambill motored downfield and shot from the left side, diving save with 16 minutes to go.
Savage kept the game alive by making a diving save when Christina Veasley broke away from the right side and fired with 10:30 remaining.
FIU's last scoring attempt of regulation nearly ended the game. Cortney Bergin inserted the ball into the box, but Picarelli jumped to tip Pappas' shot over the crossbar with 9:25 remaining.
FIU finished the year as the SBC regular season champions and an 11-6-3 record - the most wins by the program since 2001.
"Our seniors have put a lot into the program and they helped us tremendously with their leadership and their play on the field," coach Thomas Chestnutt said. "We've got some young talent that will be able to step in and keep the team going in the right direction. You can't say enough about what it does to win for a team and a program. The fact that we won the conference regular season can be huge for us going forward as we continue to work hard. We have bigger goals than just winning the conference but that is definitely one of them and will be one every year."
