OXFORD, Ohio (Sept. 6, 2015) – Senior Madlen Weinhardt's goal in the 81^st minute broke a 0-0 draw and put the FIU women's soccer team (2-3-0) back into the win column with a 1-0 result at Miami (OH) on Sunday afternoon.

"I thought we came out with a lot of energy and focus," Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt said. "We talked about giving the effort physically and mentally, and the girls did that today. We took the momentum and never relinquished it in the first half. The players who came off the bench did a great job maintaining it. Miami is a physically strong team and they kept fighting hard. In the second half, I thought Miami made a great adjustment, which we responded well to eventually. I thought today the girls did a great job regaining composure on the field during that time and finding the game-winner. It was good to see Madlen get us on the board and the team did a great job finishing from there. Everyone chipped in with keeping the intensity high and we're very happy with today's full 90-minute performance."

Three Panthers tallied first career starts, with junior Pat Tomanon and freshmen Emily Baragar and Steffi Reischmann all occupying spots in the team's starting lineup. Baragar tallied the match's first shot from the top of the 18 in the 13^th minute, breaking the stale-mate and putting the ball wide of the net. Sophomore Paula Quintero followed in the 17^th minute and created a dangerous look inside the box, but blasted a powerful attempt wide.  FIU surged late in the half with back-to-back corner kicks around the 40^th minute, but no goal resulted.

"We did a good job moving off the ball and executing good defense throughout the field," said redshirt senior Marie Egan. "We did a good job recovering in our third and showing an overall desire to win."

The Panthers again created the first look of the second half, with redshirt senior Scarlet Montoya putting an early free kick in the 55^th minute on goal, forcing the Redhawks' keeper to come up with a save. Miami (OH) responded with its best chance of the game in the 60^th minute when the Redhawks forced a set piece and put a head on the kick, but the shot went just wide. A 10-minute span ensued with Miami (OH) testing junior Sophia Trujillo twice before junior Alyssa Robinson countered in the 72^nd minute.

Junior Ellen Crist set the Panthers up for the go-ahead score with a shot that was deflected out of bounds, forcing a corner attempt. Weinhardt booted the ball in from the corner and scooped up a rebound, burying the ball into the back of the net.

"I think we did a great job as a unit today," said Weinhardt. "There was more intensity than Friday and our work ethic was completely different. We came out firing in the first half and had to regain it in the second half, but we did. Overall, everyone who stepped on that field gave 100 percent and it showed."

FIU gets back to the pitch on Friday, Sept. 11 with a 7 p.m. matchup versus the North Florida Osprey.

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/.