Box Score
BOCA RATON, Fla. (Oct. 25, 2013) – The FIU women's soccer team (7-9-0, 5-3-0 C-USA) blanked intrastate, Conference USA foe Florida Atlantic, 1-0, Friday night. The Panthers are riding a two-game win streak heading into their final game of the 2013 road slate on Sunday against Middle Tennessee and picked up their second shut-out in C-USA action.
“We got the shutout and won a tough game on the road,” said Head Coach
Thomas Chestnutt. “Florida Atlantic was highly motivated and played hard the entire game. We're happy to get the result from a tough game.”
Freshman
Vanessa Plasencia got the start in net for the Panthers, finishing the night with eight saves. In her sixth game of action for FIU, the freshman recorded her second-career shutout in net.
Senior
Crystal McNamara notched her second goal of the season in the seventeenth minute to give FIU the 1-0 lead. Junior
Ashleigh Shim earned her first assist of the season after feeding her pass to McNamara, who was able to flick the ball over the keeper's head for the ultimate game winner. The goal was McNamara's first game winner of the season.
“We're thrilled to keep out lead,” said McNamara. “These two teams always want to beat eachother.”
The Panthers defense came up big in the match, helping to solidify their fourth team shut-out with the help of sophomore
Jazmin Jones, redshirt sophomore
Sara Stewart and junior
Johanna Volz anchoring the Panthers backline.
FIU finished with six shots apiece in the first and second halfs.
With the victory, FIU holds onto its coveted first place position in the East Division of C-USA. Coming into tonight's action, the Panthers held a one point lead. With Charlotte's 1-0 win over Marshall, FIU remains one point ahead in the standings.
FIU closes out the 2013 road slate this Sunday at 2 p.m. at Middle Tennessee. The final game of the regular season, which will also serve as FIU's senior day, will be on Thursday, Oct. 31 against Marshall at 7 p.m. from the FIU Soccer Stadium.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWomensSoccer) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUWSoccer) for all the latest FIU women's soccer news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), 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 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s 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. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu
