MIAMI (Aug. 24, 2016) -- After spending the opening weekend of the regular season on the road, the FIU Panthers women's soccer program will open its home schedule at the FIU Soccer Stadium Thursday night at 7 p.m., with a contest against Atlantic Coast Conference opponent Wake Forest.
 
This will be the first meeting between the two teams. Wake is off to a 2-0 start, with wins over San Diego and La Salle. The Demon Deacons received votes in this week's NSCAA poll for the first time in two years.
 
FIU played two overtime games over the weekend to open the 2016 season, playing to a one-all tie on Friday night at Stetson and dropping a 3-2 decision in the first overtime at USF Sunday. The Bulls were receiving votes in the preseason NSCAA poll.
 
Senior Alyssa Robinson (Pembroke Pines, Florida / American Heritage HS) scored twice in the span of 104 seconds in the second half to tie the game at two at USF. Freshman Michaela Rouse (Allen, Texas) produced Friday's goal, and sophomore Jacky Manteas (Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock, Germany) and junior Courtney Phillips (Arlington, Texas) have the two Panthers assists. Senior keeper Sophia Trujillo (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) has all 201 minutes in goal for the Panthers
 
Senior Ellen Crist (St. Johns, Florida) on training this week and playing the first home game Thursday…
 
"The team was fighting until the end. Training has been intense this week and the girls are focused. Mentally, we gained a lot from the first two games and I believe we will be ready. We learned from Sunday's loss and we took the good and learned from the bad and moved on mentally for Thursday. We have that feeling of 'protecting the home field' here. It's nice to have our first home game, with local girls getting their families to come and having our fans out there. I expect nothing but a good battle from everyone on the team."
 
Junior Gabby Bovo (Miami, Florida – John. A. Ferguson HS) on putting the weekend behind them, the advantages of the last two road trips (the Panthers played in Jacksonville for the final exhibition weekend) and getting to start the home portion of the schedule…
                                                                                                                                                  
"After Sunday's loss, we felt like we worked hard for each other and it was easy to turn the focus to Wake Forest. Monday was a little hectic to recover because it was the first day of class, but fatigue goes away a little once we get out on the field and get working. We have had a chance to travel and be on our own away from campus and bond in a different way over the last two weeks. I feel like we have gotten closer, which makes it easier to want to sacrifice for these teammates because I know they will for me.
Home games are always very exciting to have our fans. The extra motivation to protect the home turf creates an extra boost.  
 
Following the Wake Forest contest, FIU will take the weekend off from playing and head back on the road next Thursday night at FGCU, starting at 7 p.m. The Panthers will return home on Sunday, September 4 as part of a doubleheader with the men. The women start off the twin bill with a noon game against Miami (Ohio).
 
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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/.