MIAMI (Nov. 5, 2013) – The FIU women's soccer team begins Conference USA tournament action tomorrow night against a strong North Texas team (12-6-1, 6-3-1 C-USA). Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. ET.
Keeping up with the Panthers
All tournament games will be streamed courtesy of C-USA. Links for livestats and steaming can be found
here.
Last Time Out
The Panthers closed out the regular season with a tough, 1-0, loss to a hungry Marshall team on Thursday. The game was a defensive battle, with each team allowing fewer than five shots on goal for the full 90 minutes. Senior
Kim Lopez led the way for FIU on senior night, finding three chances at net. Sophomore
Madlen Weinhardt had two opportunities that were blocked.Â
Scouting the Mean Green
Under the helm of John Hedlund for his 19th season, North Texas enters the tournament as the No.2 team in the West. The Mean Green finished its season with a 2-1 win over UTEP and went on a 5-1 run to close out its final six games. The squad has had two, four game win streaks during the year, and is led offensively by Rachel Holden's 12 goals. Four on the Mean Green have five-plus goals, while three also have six assists. The Mean Green is able to find the back of the net, collecting 47 goals through 18 games, which is the best in the conference. North Texas sits atop the conference in almost all statistical categories, including goals per game and assists. Holden is the clear frontrunner on the team, as her 26 points is seven ahead of Kelsey Hodge's second-best 19 points.Â
Defensively, the Mean Green is just as strong, with Haley Riley anchoring the net. She's earned six shutouts this year and the team has held its opponents to just 24 goals, 51 percent less than what its offense produces.Â
Series History
FIU and North Texas have a lengthy history as two former Sun Belt schools. FIU is 3-11-2 all-time against the Mean Green and dropped a, 1-0, heartbreaker to North Texas in the Sun Belt Finals last year. The lone goal was scored in the 63rd minute.Â
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).
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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.eduÂ
