DELAND - Even a half-hour rain delay couldn't dampen an auspicious start to the year. The FIU women's soccer team walked away with a 3-0 victory over Stetson in its season opener on Friday evening.

The Golden Panthers shined offensively, taking eight shots on goal throughout the game. Meanwhile, the resolute defense limited Stetson to just one shot on goal.

"The win definitely gives us some confidence. It gives us some momentum," junior captain Kassandra Sorzano said. "The whole preseason we focused on defense and I think our intensity was there defensively and that's what allowed us to score three goals."

Senior Mayara da Fonseca Bordin scored off a penalty kick to give FIU its first goal of the season at 22:15.

"I knew it was important for us," Bordin said. "I knew it could change a lot of our game if I scored or not. We always joke after practice by taking some penalty kicks, so I wasn't scared but I knew it was a lot of responsibility."

Both Marina Pappas and April Perry continued the offensive attack but Stetson managed to come up with saves.

Twelve minutes later, Kaley Durrance connected with Sorzano for the first assist of her career to increase the lead, 2-0, before the end of the half.

"We just communicated and were able to work together and were able to shut them down," said sophomore Victoria Miliucci, who played on the defensive side in just the second game of her career. "It was pretty exciting. At halftime everyone was shocked because I don't think we've ever been up 2-0."

After the break, junior Thaisa Moreno attempted her first shot as a Golden Panther but it sailed wide ride. However, she succeeded on her second attempt from 25 yards out and sealed the score, 3-0.

"For the first game of the season, you have to be happy to get a shutout and limiting our opponents to very few looks on goal from a defensive standpoint," Coach Thomas Chestnutt said. "We've had to move some people around, so we have people that are maybe not in the most comfortable positions for themselves. So for them to go into different positions and do as well as they did in the game, that's a credit to them and how hard they've been working."

FIU returns to the field to face Florida on Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. in Gainesville.