Box Score  TROY, Ala. (Sept. 23, 2012) – Junior Chelsea Levia's golden goal in the 92nd minute gave the FIU women's soccer team (5-4-1, 2-0-0 SBC) a 2-1 OT victory over the Troy Trojans (5-6-0, 0-2-0 SBC) on Sunday afternoon at the Troy Soccer Complex.

Leiva, who notched her third game-winner of the season, took the only shot in overtime to give FIU its sixth-straight victory over the Trojans. The golden goal also gives the Panthers a 2-0-0 start in Sun Belt Conference play.

"This is a great way to start conference play," Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt said. "It is nice to be able to go on the road and pick up two conference victories."

"One of our goals is to continue to put pressure on the other team by going forward," Leiva said. "I think we did a good job of that today. We were more aggressive and our intensity was consistent. In overtime, we pushed forward right out of the gates and were able to create the game-winning scoring chance. It's great to start conference action with two wins."

The Panthers controlled much of the game, out-shooting the Trojans 26-7 (14-3 in the second half). FIU forced 13 shots on net to just four for Troy, while producing a 12-1 advantage in corner kicks.

"The team played very well," Chestnutt said. "We moved the ball well, especially in the second half. We weren't sharp early. But, we came out more aggressive in the second half and our first goal was a result of that."

After a scoreless first half, the Panthers got on the board first with a goal by sophomore Scarlett Montoya in the 48th minute. The Miami native fired a shot from the corner of the 18-yard box past Troy Goalkeeper Katie Comeno-Lewis for her fourth goal of the season. Leiva was credited with her third assist of the season on the goal.

"I thought we were moving the ball better this afternoon," junior Kim Lopez said. "The midfielders were constantly trying to find a forward to put pressure on Troy's defense. Our ability to get more balls in the area resulted in getting more shots on net. Even though they tied the game, we kept our composure and made sure that this game was ours to win."

"Once we scored that first goal, I thought we had a chance to really knock them back," Chestnutt said. "We had the momentum and unfortunately did not capitalize on it."

Troy tied the game in the 70th minute with a goal by Jasmine Fahrnbauer. On the Trojan's only corner kick of the game, Fahrnbauer flicked a header to the back post, beating FIU goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage. The goal was the first of the season for Fahrnbauer. Cecilia Thorngren who took the Troy corner was credited with the assist.

"Although I thought was we played better," Chestnutt said. "They (Troy) had their chances. They were well organized and had a good game plan. After their goal in the 70th minute, our team did not flinch. We just kept playing and found chances."

Neither team could break the 1-1 tied in regulation, resulting in the Panther's second overtime contest of the season.  FIU wasted no time in putting pressure on Troy, scoring 81 seconds into overtime.

In the 92nd minute Leiva broke past two defenders to make her way into the Trojan's area. Once in the 18-yard box, the Royal Palm Beach, Fla., native drove a shot to the lower left corner of the net for the Panther's fifth win of the season.

"Chelsea made something out of nothing," Chestnutt said. "With some composure, she got an opening inside of the box and finished it nicely. I credit her for being aggressive. This is something the coaching staff preaches to the team; that is we stay aggressive, we will be successful. It was good to see that happen today."

The win wraps up a road conference weekend in which the Panthers were a perfect 2-0-0.

"We will enjoy these two victories tonight then starting tomorrow our focus turns to Middle Tennessee this Friday." Chestnutt said.

The Panthers will host the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Friday, Sept. 28, at the FIU Soccer Stadium. Game time is set for 7:00 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 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/.