MIAMI (Aug. 21, 2015) – Junior Alyssa Robinson's goal two minutes into overtime gave the FIU women's soccer team (1-0) a 2-1 victory over the Dayton Flyers on Friday night.
"The girls showed their resilience tonight and used the chemistry we've been building on," said Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt. "Playing a very good Dayton team that challenges us in a lot of ways, the girls answered the bell and played very well in the second half and the overtime period. Jacky Byers had a fantastic effort and her teammates set her up to equalize the score. For Alyssa to get off her mark in the overtime was fantastic. Tonight was a great team effort all-around, and the fan support was excellent tonight as well."
The Flyers controlled the tempo early and capitalized off a set piece goal in the sixth minute, which was headed in by Libby Leedom. Junior Sophia Trujillo jumped her line in the 11th minute to save three-straight chances that were peppered towards net to keep it a one-goal game. Senior Madlen Weinhardt just missed a chance at the equalizer on the counter attack. Trujillo's dominance kept the game at 1-0 after the first stanza, as the San Diego State transfer finished the half with six saves.
The Panthers picked up their intensity in the second half and rattled off three chances, with FIU's best chance coming off the foot of freshman Jacqueline Byers in the 54th minute. The Jensen Beach, Fla., native capitalized on her second-ever shot and buried the equalizer off the assist by freshman Lyrik Fryer.
"This is what we've worked on in practice, really hard and committed runs," said Byers. "I've never scored a header before and I just flicked it and it went in the back of the net. It was such a memorable first game."
FIU continued to pressure the Flyers throughout the second, with redshirt senior Scarlet Montoya watching her chance at the go-ahead goal get denied in the 74th minute. Robinson forced the keeper to jump for a high blast with 90 seconds to play, and redshirt Nikki Rios helped to send the Panthers into overtime with a jumping header sent up field on a last-minute corner from Dayton.
The Panthers wasted no time in the overtime, as Weinhardt connected with Robinson to send FIU home victorious.
"We had the moto 'finish' this year, and that's what it all came down tonight," said Robinson. "This is what we practice in our training sessions all the time. It was a complete team effort tonight."
The Panthers get back on the pitch on Sunday, as FIU travels to Stetson for a 1 p.m. match.
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/.
