Box Score MOBILE, Ala. (Sept. 21, 2012) – An own-goal by South Alabama (5-5-1, 0-1-0 SBC) in the 50th minute led to a 1-0 victory for the FIU women's soccer team (4-4-1, 1-0-0 SBC) in the Sun Belt Conference opener on Friday, Sept. 21, in Mobile, Ala.

"We had a slow start," Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt said. "Our execution was off in the first half. But, we did a good job of possessing the ball in the second. I give South Alabama credit. They did a good job of being organized in the first half. After 45 minutes, they wore down as we controlled the game in the second half. We need to do a better job of executing in the defensive third of the field.  I'm happy with the win as well as the shutout. It's always tougher to get a win on the road and this is a good way to start conference play."

With the score tied a 0-0, a shot by junior Chelsea Leiva was redirected by a Jaguar defender in USA's own net, resulting in the game's only score. With the ball near the South Alabama endline, Leiva struck a low-driving shot across the mouth of the goal. A USA defender charged the shot, trying to clear the ball from the six-yard box but deflected the ball into her own net. The native of Royal Palm Beach, Fla., recorded two shots on the night with one on net. Junior Kim Lopez and sophomore Scarlett Montoya
led FIU with three shots (one on goal) each.

"In the first half, we were a little flat," junior midfielder Nicole DiPerna said. "However, we regrouped and took control in the second. After halftime we played more aggressive and did a better job communicating with each other. I think we did a good job of wearing South Alabama down. It's always good to start off with a win in conference action."
Goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage picked up her fourth win of the season, registering four saves en route to her fourth shutout of the campaign. With the win, the Fox Island, Wash., native moved to 4-4-1 on the year and lowered her goals-against-average to 1.08.

"We didn't come out and play our best game," Savage said. "But a win is a win, especially in conference. We will need to step it up moving forward. I thought we possessed the ball better in the second half. We were able to calm down and control the tempo of the game."

For the game, South Alabama held an 18-12 advantage in shots, while the Panthers held a 7-6 edge in shots on goal.

The win snaps a two-game losing skid for the Panthers and gives FIU its first road win of the season.

FIU will travel to Troy, Ala., to continue Sun Belt Conference action versus the Troy Trojans on Sunday, Sept. 23. Game time is 2:00 p.m. ET.

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 nearly 48,000 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/.