MIAMI (Oct. 30, 2014) – The FIU women's soccer team (8-8-2, 3-4-2) drew a 1-1 result to the Marshall Thundering Herd on Senior Night from the FIU Soccer Stadium. Goals 12 seconds apart in the second half sent the game into double overtime.
Senior
Johanna Volz equalized a short-lived deficit late in the match, netting her third goal of the season 12 seconds after Marshall pulled ahead. Junior
Madlen Weinhardt and redshirt junior
Scarlet Montoya were credited with the assists. It's the 17
th helper of Weinhardt's career, moving the Germany native to No. 4 in program history.
The Culicerto sisters gave freshman keeper
Nevena Stojakovic three tough looks in the first five minutes. With two consecutive corners in the fourth minute, Stojakovic climbed the ladder twice to make the save. Senior
Johanna Volz had the Panthers' first good look in the 18
th minute when a pass from senior
Ashleigh Shim found Volz near the top of the 18 for a strike that Marshall's Lizzie Kish stopped.
A ball off the post landed in Stojakovic's hands in the 32
nd minute by way of Kelly Culicerto's long-range shot. On FIU's counter-attack, Volz switched fields and found redshirt senior
Chelsea Leiva, who was able to one-time past the goalie, drawing an open net, but the pass attempt failed.
Sophomore
Alyssa Robinson and Leiva almost found the back of the net in the 42
nd minute. After Robinson gained possession towards midfield, a through ball to Leiva, who was nearing the top of the box, was inches too far, as the Herd keeper jumped her line to make the save. Senior
Caroline Hernandez had a look 16 seconds later off a strong ball off her right foot.
The game entered halftime with a low shot total, as both teams combined seven shots, with Marshall holding a slight, 4-3, edge.
Textbook recovery defense from redshirt sophomore
Shelby Bowden in the 57
th minute forced a goal-worthy shot by the Herd to fall right of the post. With Morgan Mays charging through the box, Bowden stuck to the forward and forced the shot to go wide. Leiva followed with a near-miss header in the 58
th minute. FIU had another header opportunity off a set piece by Weinhardt, which found redshirt junior
Sara Stewart but missed wide.
A yellow card on the Panthers granted the Herd a free kick opportunity from just outside the 18, but Kelly Culicerto's ball had no chance as it sailed high over the cross bar.
Marshall broke a scoreless game in the 70
th minute on a ball struck by Sydney Arnold. Not even 15 seconds later, Volz found the equalizer by way of her third goal of the season. On a play started by Weinhardt, she facilitated to Montoya, who connected with Volz. The Portland, Ore., native blasted a rocket from 25 yards out to strike the back of the net.
Montoya tried on two occasions to put the Panthers ahead with back-to-back shots just short of the 75
th minute. The Miami native first missed by inches, but the ball redirected off the Herd defender and found its way back to Montoya's foot. From there, the explosive midfielder tested Kish, who came up with a big-time save.
The match went into overtime, although FIU was able to control the possession in the final minutes of regulation. A scoreless first overtime sent the game into double-overtime. Montoya nearly struck gold again in the 104
th minute, but the shot from firing range was blocked by the Marshall defender. In the closing seconds of the match, Leiva nearly notched her sixth game-winner but the shot pinged off the post.
Following the game, FIU's seven graduating players were honored. Leiva, Shim, Volz, Hernandez, Stewart, Bowden and
Madlen Weinhardt were gifted with roses and framed jerseys.
The Panthers conclude their season on Saturday at UAB.
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, and is a proud member of Conference USA. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and the FIU Football Stadium. About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.