FT. MYERS - They endured a lightning delay that lasted longer than the duration of a regulation game, steady rain for the majority of the match, two overtime periods and yet the Panthers came out on top of a 1-0 thriller late Thursday night at Florida Gulf Coast. Freshman Chelsea Leiva scored the first goal of her career with 7:51 to go in the extra period, and goalkeeper Melanie Raimo notched the fifth shutout of her career.
Leiva received a through ball from classmate Nicole DiPerna, took several strides up the field and drilled it over the head of keeper Stephanie Powers as she contended the shot.
"The incoming players came in physically ready and they've worked hard along with the whole team, so it's great to see two freshmen combining on the winning goal," head coach Thomas Chestnutt said. "They battled throughout overtime. It was good to see the kids just getting stuck in. Florida Gulf Coast played a great game and we feel with a two-hour delay and the rain, the girls persevered and found a way to get their first win of the season."
FIU and FGCU warmed up, but immediately after the coin toss, both teams were forced to leave the field and seek shelter due to lightning. Near the conclusion of the two-hour and 16-minute delay, the Panthers loosened back up in the hallway outside their locker room, their yellow cleats echoing off the tile as they ran forward, backward and sideways.
"It's always hard when you get distracted - you're warming up and then cooling down and you really have to concentrate so you don't get away from the game," senior captain Mayara da Fonseca Bordin said. "The win is good motivation for the game tomorrow and I'm really happy because all the girls battled really hard through the game."
The teams fought for position for much of the first half. With roughly 15 minutes to go, midfielder April Perry received a cross from the left side, but her head-on shot was saved by Powers.
Raimo came up with three saves of her own, including a diving deflection to her left with 13 minutes remaining in the half, to keep the score stagnant at 0-0 at the break.
FIU nearly scored with 6:30 to go when freshman Kim Lopez found Perry open breaking to the left, but Powers dove to deflect the shot. Lopez wound up in front of the goal with 2:20 to go but again Powers came up with the save and pushed it to overtime.
Raimo came through in the first extra period with two saves to keep FIU's hopes alive.
"There are some shots when you feel they are pressing on you and it's a big threat and then there are shots that when you make a save, it's just a big pump up for the team and so it got us going on the attack," Raimo said. "You could hear the energy of the team pick up. This game was a very personal game, not just for me but for the whole team because we haven't beaten this team in a while. We did shut them out last year but it was a 0-0 tie. To get the shutout and the win, it was magic."
FIU registered its first win in the overall series, which dates back to 2007. The Panthers return to Miami on Friday for their home opener against Delaware State at 7 p.m.
