Box Score MOBILE, Ala. (Oct. 31, 2012) – For the third-straight year, the FIU women's soccer team has advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals following a 2-0 victory over the Troy Trojans during the opening round of the 2012 SBC Championships on Wednesday afternoon  in Mobile, Ala.

Goals by juniors Chelsea Leiva and Kim Lopez gave the Panthers (12-5-2) their sixth-straight win and extended the team's unbeaten streak to eight games (7-0-1).

"Objective number one was to advance and we accomplished that goal," Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt said. "All that matters is that we continue to move forward in the
tournament and that we stay healthy. We were able to do both today and we are happy about that."

Leiva got FIU on the board in the 15th minute, slotting a cross from defender Nikki Rios for her 11th goal of the season. The play started when Rios took the ball to the Troy end line after receiving a long pass from sophomore Scarlett Montoya. The Cooper City, Fla., native then sent a low cross into the six-yard box where Leiva was positioned.
The goal marked the 26th of Leiva's career, just two shy of tying Delia DeSilva (1991-94) for fifth all-time at FIU. Both Rios and Montoya were credited with assists on the play.

"We were able to get two good goals today," Chestnutt said. "The one in the first half was a great combination between Scarlett, Nikki and Chelsea. It was a nicely-worked goal."

The Panthers got an insurance goal in the 80th minute as Lopez netted her first goal of the season. Following a free kick by the Trojans from the left side of the Panthers' area,
Lopez received a clearance pass from Montoya which got the Ft. Pierce, Fla., native got behind Troy's defensive back line. With only the 'keeper to beat, Lopez drilled a shot
past Troy's Maddie Winter to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead. Montoya was credited with her second assist of the match on the goal.  

"On the second goal, I thought we countered very well," Chesnutt said. "Kim got a little spot of daylight in the back and had a nice finish in the late stages of the game."
Lopez led all Panthers with six shots, while Leiva notched four.

For the game, FIU out-shot Troy, 19-9, holding the Trojans scoreless for the fifth time in the series history while improving to 8-1-0 all-time. Redshirt junior Kaitlyn Savage picked up her seventh shutout of the season, making four saves versus Troy. The Fox Island, Wash., native made a huge save in the 43rd minute as a header by Chelsea
Williams was sent on net. Leaping to her left, Savage made the point-blank save to preserve the then 1-0 lead. With the victory, Savage improved to 12-5-2 on the year and
lowered her goals-against-average to 0.89. It also marked Savage's 21st-career shutout giving the FIU netminder the school record for career shutouts. 

"Kaitlyn did a great job for us in net," Chestnutt said. "She made a tremendous save in the first half; certainly their best opportunity of the night."

The victory marked the 12th of the season for the Panthers; third-most by an FIU team in program history. 

"I'm very proud of the team," Chestnutt said. "Now we are looking forward to the winner of the Middle Tennessee, South Alabama game."  

The Panthers will play in the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 2 and will face the winner of the Middle Tennessee-South Alabama match. Game time is set for 8 p.m. ET. All games can be watched live on www.sunbeltsports.org. The web stream for the entire tournament is provided at no charge.

Fans are encouraged to follow @FIUWomensSoccer on Twitter, and "Like" FIU women's soccer on Facebook (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/