MIAMI (Sept. 25, 2014) – The FIU women's soccer team (5-4-0, 0-0-0) closes out its seven-game home stand this weekend, as league play opens up for the first time in 2014. First on the Panthers' Conference USA slate is Old Dominion, with first kick being set for Friday at 7 p.m. FIU closes out what also serves as Alumnae Weekend against preseason favorite Charlotte, Sunday at 1 p.m.
Coverage
Friday vs. Old Dominion – 7 p.m.
Venue: FIU Soccer Stadium, Miami, Fla.
Follow on Twitter: @FIUWomensSoccer
LiveStats: Click HERE
Stream: Click HERE
Sunday vs. Charlotte – 1 p.m.
Venue: FIU Soccer Stadium, Miami, Fla.
Follow on Twitter: @FIUWomensSoccer
LiveStats: Click HERE
Stream: Click HERE
A Look Ahead
With FIU's seven-game home stand nearly behind them, a three-game road trip is next on the schedule, starting Oct. 3 at Florida Atlantic at 7 p.m.
Scouting the Monarchs – Series History
Struggling in the win column, Old Dominion comes to Miami with a 1-5-2 record, dropping two of its last three matches. A heavy road slate through eight games, the Monarchs are 1-4-0 on the road this season, heading into the road trip that takes them to Miami and Boca Raton this weekend. Leading the offensive attack for the Monarchs is Jessie Klamut, who has a team-best four goals and eight points. Madison Hogan is the only other multi-goal scorer on a roster that has seven goals this season. Three goalies have shared time in net this season, with Erin Kinz getting the brute of the work, boasting a .765 save percentage. The Panthers carry a slight, 2-1, edge all-time versus the Monarchs. FIU most recently won, 4-0, last season.
Scouting the 49ers – Series History
Picked to finish first in the Conference USA preseason Coaches' Poll, Charlotte is riding a two-game win streak into its matchup on Friday with Florida Atlantic. Boasting two four-goal scorers on its roster, Martha Thomas and Perri Bonner have nine and eight points to lead their team, respectively. Annika McHenry is the reigning C-USA Defensive Player of the Week after posting back-to-back clean sheets over the weekend. Charlotte took last year's match, 2-0, to take a 1-0 all-time lead in the series.
A Set of Firsts
Both Charlotte and Old Dominion served a set of firsts for the then-new Conference USA affiliate Panthers. FIU's first league match-up was against Charlotte on Sept. 27, 2013, while FIU's 4-0 routing of Old Dominion on Sept. 29, 2013 serves as FIU's first C-USA victory. Both Ashleigh Shim and Johanna Volz scored in the effort.
Shim a Senior Class Selection
Senior Ashleigh Shim has been named one of 30 Senior CLASS Award candidates. To be eligible, a student-athlete must be a classified NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
NCAA Rankings
FIU's five shutouts this season ranks tied for No. 39 in the nation for shutout percentage (.556). Only Western Kentucky (4, .571) is higher amongst C-USA schools, while North Texas is tied with FIU.
Clean Sheets
Freshman goalkeeper Nevena Stojakovic has five shutouts through nine games to start her young career. The Serbia native is boasting a 0.89 goals-against-average and a .733 save percentage. Her five shutouts is tied for the highest in C-USA. Below is a list of the most shutouts in the league.
1. KERESTINE, Jackie - NT 5
STOJAKOVIC, Nevena - FIU 5
3. LEONE, Allison - WKU 4
DRINKWATER, S. FAU 4
Closing In
Junior Madlen Weinhardt's 14 career assists moves the Germany native two shy of climbing into the program's top 5 all-time for assists in a career. Below is a list of the assists leaders
1. Catherine Liller (1990-93) 24
2. Michele O'Brien (1998-2001) 18
3. Chelsea Leiva (2010-pres.) 17
4. Cindy Greenman (1992-96) 16
Lisa Bliskis (1992-93, 96) 16
Welcome to the Club
Redshirt senior Chelsea Leiva has 30 career goals. Below are the top five goal scorers in Panther soccer history:
1. Michele O'Brien (1998-2001) 58
2. Catherine Liller (1990-93) 50
3. Cindy Greenman (1992-96) 44
4. Sasja Odenyo (2000-01) 37
5. Chelsea Leiva (2010-Pres) 30
Where that Stands in C-USA
Redshirt senior Chelsea Leiva's 78 career points and 30 career goals ranks as the highest among current Conference USA member's school's players.
International Affair
Of its 22 student-athletes, the FIU women's soccer team boasts players from five different countries (Nevena Stojakovic, Serba; Cyan Jean-Baptiste and Sara Stewart; Canada; Madlen Weinhardt, Germany; Ashleigh Shim, Jamacia; Pat Tomanon, Phillippines; Paula Quintero, Colombia)
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, 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/.
