MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (Nov. 3, 2011) - The FIU women's soccer team overcame an early own goal and tough weather conditions to defeat Denver, 3-1, in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament on Thursday evening in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The Panthers scored three unanswered goals to reach the league final for just the third time in program history.
"We were able to limit what Denver wanted to do," Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt said. "We played with passion and had great work ethic. The girls were ready and rebounded after a tough start to the game."
With the rain coming down and the wind whipping around, Denver got on the board first in the 12th minute after sending a ball into the box that found its way into the net after a collision in front of the goal occurred.
"It woke our team up and got the girls into the game," Chestnutt said. "It was big for us to respond quickly and shows our resilience."
The Panthers regrouped and found the equalizer just six minutes later when sophomore Chelsea Leiva found freshman Ashleigh Shim in front of the net. Shim was able to beat the goalkeeper to the right, providing FIU with a quick answer.
Out of the break, Denver continued to hold possession but FIU's defense was able to fend off the attack. Then a quick run by the Panthers led to the eventual game-winning goal as Leiva broke free once again. She then provided freshman Johanna Volz with a cross and her initial header was saved but she cleaned up the rebound in the 62nd minute.
"Coming off the bench, you have to make an impact and that's what I wanted to do," Volz said. "It felt great and it was a huge moment for us. It's not anything words can describe just knowing we had to close the game to go to the finals."
FIU iced the match in the 71-minute mark when Denver committed a handball inside the box, setting up a penalty kick that was converted by sophomore Nicole DiPerna.
Denver did not go down quietly, forcing a flurry of corner kicks late in the match and making the FIU defense work. Goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage was able to turn away some close-range shots and the defense did not falter, allowing FIU to eliminate the Pioneers a year after Denver ended FIU's run in the postseason.
"The last 20 minutes were very intense; all of us wanted it so bad," senior Cortney Bergin said. "We didn't want to give up a goal and let Denver think they could come back."
The Panthers will face the winner of North Texas and Western Kentucky on Saturday at 2 p.m. EST. FIU defeated North Texas, the regular season champions, 1-0 in Miami and had a scoreless draw against WKU this season.
The match can be seen live via web stream courtesy of the Sun Belt. To sign-up for the live stream, visit www.SunBeltSports.org. Fans can also follow the FIU women's soccer team (@FIUWomensSoccer) on Twitter for live updates.
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. Its colleges 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, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
