MIAMI (Oct. 25, 2015) – The FIU Women's Soccer team (8-10, 4-5 in C-USA) fell to Florida Atlantic (12-7, 6-3 C-USA) Sunday afternoon, 2-0, on Senior Day.
The FIU Soccer Stadium saw the first goal of the match by the Owls' senior Claire Emslie in the 18th minute. Emslie bent the ball from a free kick off a penalty to take the lead 1-0. It was her sixth of the season.
As the first half was winding down, FIU had a tremendous chance to tie the match. In 45th minute,
Alyssa Robinson took her second shot on goal for the match, but was saved by Owls' goalie Sydney Drinkwater.
Entering the second half, in the 51st minute, FAU sophomore Maddie Pung registered her first goal of the season with a header off a corner from Emslie to give the Owls some insurance. Unable to find the back of the net, the Panthers fell, 2-0.
FIU held the edge in shots 14-9 while FAU had 6 corners to the Panthers' two.
Nevena Stojakovic made five saves on the day, suffering her fifth loss of the season. Robinson led all Panthers with six shots (five on net) followed by senior
Madlen Weinhardt, who posted four (three on net).
Following the match, FIU honored its four seniors, who played in the final home match of their FIU careers.
"Part of the satisfaction of being a coach is to watch your players grow as people through the years," said Head Coach
Thomas Chestnutt. "From the time
Madlen Weinhardt came in as a freshman, a little bit unsure of herself and adjusting to the situation, to now leading the line in the attack, a captain, playing with passion, and showing a strong desire to succeed. It's just great to see that growth in a person through the four years.
Marie Egan is a role model of strength and determination. She stands at 5-foot-3, but plays like she's six-feet tall. She plays with so much passion in every game, it's been phenomenal to see her grow as well, as a person and as a player. As for
Scarlet Montoya and
Nikki Rios, I've been around them for seven seasons. It seems that all I know is a team with them on it. Nikki is the hardest working and most positive person you will find. Scarlet has a great talent for the game and one of the brightest smiles you will see.
Cyan Jean-Baptiste is a strong, intelligent, and capable young women, who will have a bright future beyond soccer. It's going to be hard to see all these seniors leave the program. We wish them the best. I'm happy to have had an opportunity to coach these girls."
"It's bittersweet," said Egan, "I've really enjoyed my time playing here at FIU. It's been really fun."
Rios commented, "It's been amazing. I've had so many, not even friends, but sisters. It's awesome to be a part of something that's bigger than yourself and to work for something with, basically, your family towards a common goal and then achieve wins along the way. It's just an extraordinary feeling and you can't put it into words."
"I'm really sad, because it's been an amazing experience here," says Weinhardt, "I've honestly had the best moments here on this field. I appreciate it so much being here, it's awesome."
"It's kind of crazy," says Montoya. "It went by so fast. You come in as a freshman and the first thing the seniors tell you is to appreciate it while it lasts because it's going to go by really fast... and you look at them like 'I just got here, it's not going to end that soon', but it really does. I made so many new friends; more like family. I had so many beautiful experiences that I could never forget. And I'm just really thankful for everything I've gone through and all my accomplishments individually and with the team."
The Panthers will return to action next Friday as they travel to Charlotte for a 7 pm matchup.
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 ofConference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
