MIAMI (Oct. 28, 2016) -- For the second time this season, FIU scored twice when down 2-0, but unlike the first time, the Panthers could not complete the comeback and fell to league-leading North Texas 3-2 Friday afternoon at the FIU Soccer Stadium. The loss sets the Panthers back to 3-10-3 on the season, and a 2-5-2 Conference USA record.
 
North Texas earned a share of the Conference USA regular-season title with the win, improving to 13-4-1, with an 8-1 league record.
 
The Panthers played one their finest games of the season, controlling possession and being aggressive into the attacking third for long stretches of each half. The difference in the game came in finishing, where North Texas benefitted from great set piece play, and the Panthers faced key saves from the Mean Green in some of their best chances for the contest.
 
"I was really proud of our complete, 90-minute effort today," said FIU Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt. "It looked like we were going to turn the game, but credit North Texas for getting that last goal. Congratulations to them for winning the title. It was one of those games where we played very well and just came up short. We had adversities with the postponement, the moving of senior day and being down 2-0, but they stayed focused and went back at them."
 
The Mean Green scored three seconds into the 31^st minute, when a corner kick from Tori Phillips was sent to Anna Flobeck for a header and the opening score.
 
North Texas looked to pull away when Cat Sebazco blasted a shot that deflected off of two Panthers and trickled in the goal in the 35^th minute for the 2-0 lead.
 
Less than three minutes later, the Panthers got on the board when Lauren Whitaker (Greensboro, North Carolina) served a pass from the right corner, which was touched from Isabella de Almagro Pembroke Pines, Florida / American Heritage HS) to Bria Williams (Lewisville, Texas), who sent it far post and in to cut the deficit to one goal.
 
At the half, North Texas owned a 9-6 advantage in shots.
 
The Panthers again came out aggressively to start the second period, but North Texas held on defensively for a scoreless 30 minutes.
 
In the 79^th minute, the Panthers got in close and a deflected ball landed at the feet of an attacking Courtney Phillips (Arlington, Texas) and she crossed up Mean Green keeper Miranda Schoening for the equalizer. It was the first career goal for Phillips, who logged her first career assist earlier this season.
 
The game was won in the 81^st minute, when Lauryn Bruffett headed in a ball that was lofted in the air after a few attempts to score from five yards out.
 
The Panthers were able to get a few late chances in those last 10 minutes, but nothing found goal and the Mean Green came away with the three points in the standings.
 
FIU keeper Sophia Trujillo (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) made three saves in the loss. Schoening collected four saves.
 
FIU concludes the season Sunday with at 1 p.m. contest against Old Dominion. The game was a makeup game from the October 9 contest that was called off due to the threat of Hurricane Matthew.

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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/.