Box Score BOCA RATON, Fla. (Oct. 25, 2012) – A pair of goals by Chelsea Leiva gave FIU its 11th win of  the season and put the Panthers in a first-place tie in the Sun Belt Conference standings as the women's soccer team defeated the FAU Owls, 2-1, on Thursday evening in Boca Raton, Fla.

Leiva's goals, No. 9 and No. 10 on the season, gave FIU a 2-0 advantage and the Royal Palm Beach native her 25th-career goal and 64th-career point (No. 6 all-time at FIU).
"The team came out, despite the gusty conditions and took control of the game," Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt said. "We handled the conditions well and maintained our focus, settling in and managing the ball well. We had good control in the first half and kept the ball in their half of the field for most of the contest."

The Panthers held a 17-4 advantage in shots, holding the Owls to just two shots in each half.

"We did a really good job tonight of creating scoring chances and controlling the flow of the game," freshman Jazmin Jones said. "We were constantly looking to get the ball into the midfield and I think the pressure that we were putting on their forwards was a huge factor in limiting their scoring opportunities."

Leiva got FIU on the board in the 19th minute, striking a ball just under the cross bar from the top of the box. The shot beat FAU goalkeeper Ashley Lantes to give FIU a 1-0 lead. Sophomore Kim Lopez was credited with an assist on the play.

"We really wanted to finish the regular season strong and on a good note and tonight's win did just that," Leiva said. "We created a number of scoring opportunities with our strong ball movement forward. Tonight's win has definitely strengthened our confidence as we head into the tournament."

The junior forward netted her second goal of the match midway through the second period receiving a pass from junior Nicole DiPerna. The midfielder played a ball over the FAU defense giving Leiva a one-on-one breakaway with the FAU backup goalkeeper Courtney Zwetsch. Leiva beat the 'keeper for her team-leading 10th goal of the season.
DiPerna was credited with an assist on the score.

"Chelsea's second goal was one of the best goals we scored this season," Chestnutt said. "The team did an excellent job of creating that goal and it developed beautifully."
With the two-goal lead, FIU continued to limit the Owls' chances. Starting goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage registered one save on the night and maintained a clean sheet through 83 minutes of action before backup 'keeper Kelley Struyf came in.

"The girls did a lot of good things in the second half," Chestnutt said. "Despite the two goal lead, they maintained their focus and intensity and I am proud of the effort they put forth tonight."

With a little more than five minutes left in the match, FAU cut the Panthers' lead to 2-1 on a goal by Olivia MBala. On a quick restart from 25 yards out, MBala struck a shot that beat Struyf to the upper right corner.

That proved to be the only blemish on the night as the Panthers went on for the 2-1 victory.

With the win FIU improves to 8-1-1 in the conference this season and is now unbeaten in seven-straight contests. The victory also improved FIU's all-time mark versus the Owls to 21-5-1. It also gave FIU its 11th win of the season, as the Panthers have won 11-or-more games in four-conseuctive seasons (the first time in the program's history).

"We came into tonight's match with the same mindset that we've had all year; this is just another game that is going to prepare us for what lies ahead in the conference tournament," Leiva said. "We are excited and cannot wait for our first game in tournament." 

"We are really happy with tonight's result and will now turn our focus towards the Sun Belt Conference Tournament," Chestnutt said.

The Panthers will now wait and see how the SBC standings pan out as four different contests take place on Friday, Oct. 26, including Middle Tennessee at WKU. Should the
Blue Raiders lose, FIU would be the SBC regular season co-champions and clinch the No. 2 seed in this year's Sun Belt Conference Tournament (Oct. 31-Nov. 4). With
tonight's victory, FIU can finish no worse than the No. 3 seed.

The conference tournament begins on Wednesday, Oct. 31.

Fans are encouraged to follow @FIUWomensSoccer on Twitter, and "Like" FIU women's soccer on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/FIUWSoccer) for the latest Panther soccer news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), Pinterest (FIUAthletics), and Instagram (FIUathletics).   

About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. 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 bachelors, masters 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 50,000 students in two campuses 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. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.