MIAMI (Oct. 16, 2011) -Freshman Johanna Volz scored with four minutes remaining in the match to help the FIU women's soccer team secure a critical 1-0 victory over the Denver Pioneers on Sunday afternoon at FIU Soccer Stadium. The Panthers now stand at 9-6-1 on the season and 6-1-1 in the Sun Belt Conference while Denver receives its first loss in conference play, falling to 13-3-0 overall and 7-1-0 in the SBC.
With time winding down, the Panthers were able to break free on a counter attack and sophomore Chelsea Leiva fed Volz with a nice cross to the left side, leaving a wide open net. Volz buried the shot past a diving keeper for her third score of the season.
The goal ended 85 minutes of scoreless play as both teams battled the wet conditions. The Pioneers were able to pressure early and often in the match and out-shot the Panthers by a 14-8 margin. FIU's defense held on though, shutting out the league's top offense for the first time in 2011.
"This was a huge result for us and our defense did a great job," goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage said. "These wins are the biggest of the season for us but we have to keep getting better and focus on the next game."
The Panthers now stand at 6-1-1 in the conference with three games remaining on the schedule before the SBC tournament. FIU's next match is on Thursday, Oct. 20, in Monroe, La. against ULM at 5 p.m.
Live stats will be provided through www.FIUSports.com and fans can also follow along on Twitter (@FIUWomensSoccer).
About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 17 different sports, and is a proud member of the Sun Belt Conference and an affiliate member of Conference USA (men's soccer). Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Itscolleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls 46,000 students in two campus and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida.FIU is a member of the Sun Belt Conference and has 400 student-athletes participating in17 sports. In 2010 the Panthers won their first bowl game. For more information about FIU, visithttp://www.fiu.edu/.
