MIAMI (Sept. 2, 2011) - A late overtime goal was the difference as the FIU women's soccer team dropped a devastating 3-2 loss to the UMKC Kangaroos on Friday night at FIU Soccer Stadium. The Panthers now stand at 2-3-0 on the season while UMKC improves to 1-1-2.
"We weren't very good tonight and we have a lot of things to work on," said Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt. "I give credit to UMKC for coming down here and doing what they wanted to do."
Despite several early chances, the Kangaroos got on the board first in the 28th minute when Ashley Gann forced a turnover deep inside Panther territory and finished with a strike past goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage.
The Panthers registered the equalizer 10 minutes later when freshman Nikki Rios found senior defender Victoria Miliucci for her first goal of the season.
"It felt great to help my team get back on the board," said Miliucci. "In practice, I always go in for corners and set pieces but I haven't been able to put one in yet so it was a good feeling."
UMKC would make sure the celebration was short-lived, however, as Taylor Bare drove home a pass from Allison Schau just two minutes later to put the Kangaroos back on top 2-1 heading into halftime.
After pressuring relentlessly in the second half, FIU evened the game once again when sophomore Chelsea Leiva netted her first goal of the season, capitalizing on a beautiful pass from freshman Ashleigh Shim.
FIU continued to pressure, firing off several shots in the waning moments of regulation. None came closer than freshman Johanna Volz' shot inside the box that went wide with three seconds remaining.
In overtime, the teams played fairly even until UMKC dropped a ball into the penalty box that rattled around before Laura Creason was able to tap it in for the game-winner with just 1:22 left on the clock.
For the third straight game, FIU outshot its opponent by a wide margin, 24-10, and placed 12 shots on goal. Leiva led all Panthers with five shots and Volz was able to fire off four on the evening.
The Panthers will take a week off and return to the pitch on Friday, Sept. 9 against in-state rival Florida Gulf Coast at FIU Soccer Stadium. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m.
For ticket information to FIU home matches, call the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
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.
