BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The FIU women's soccer team stunned WKU in dramatic fashion on Sunday afternoon to come away with its first conference win of the season. Junior midfielder Kassandra Sorzano scored her second goal of the year to lift FIU past the Hilltoppers in overtime.
The win gives the Golden Panthers (3-5-2) their first victory ever at Bowling Green and their first win against WKU (6-3-1) since Nov. 3, 2004.
"It's awesome to get the win against this team - one of the top in the conference - and to do it in overtime is even more special," Sorzano said.
Freshman Kaitlyn Savage kept WKU out of the net with seven saves, including three in the final five minutes to record her first shutout win of her career. April Perry, Thaisa Moreno and Marina Pappas each recorded shots on goal but nevertheless, the teams battled to a 0-0 tie at the end of regulation.
"In the second half, our defense held it down for us," Sorzano said. "Katrina (Rose) and Jessica (Gambill) had great games and Amy (Jackson) in the middle was our force defensively. It was a great team effort."
With less than five minutes remaining in the extra period, the ball was played to Jessica Gambill wide, and she found Sorzano, who controlled it to find the back of the net toward the far post from eight yards out. With the goal, Sorzano matches her season-high of two goals from the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
"We really battled for 90-plus minutes, and I think that's what put us over the line today," Jackson said.
FIU returns to Miami and kicks off a four-game homestand on Friday with a 7 p.m. matchup against Denver.