After having the entire week to train, the FIU Panthers women's soccer program enters into the Conference USA schedule this weekend, with a Sunday evening contest at Florida Atlantic, starting at 6 p.m.
 
The Owls represent the longest rival on the current schedule for the Panthers, dating back to a 10-0 win at FAU in the Owls' first season of soccer, 1991. FIU was the first program the Owls played a second time, and the Panthers won the first 17 games in the series, holding a 22-6-2 mark between the programs. FIU is 5-1-2 in the last eight meetings, going back to 2008, and the Panthers have not lost in Boca Raton since 2007.
 
This year's Panthers are 1-5-1, coming off the first win and shutout of the season, a 1-0 victory against the University of Miami down in Coral Gables. Five of the Panthers' seven contests this year have been within one goal. Senior Alyssa Robinson (Pembroke Pines, Florida / American Heritage HS) leads the team by scoring three of the four season goals. Senior keeper Sophia Trujillo (Miami, Florida / Gulliver Prep) posted the Sunday shutout of the Hurricanes and has all 632 minutes in goal this season for FIU. Four times, she has allowed just one or no goals in full time.
 
FAU this season stands at 4-4-1, with a 3-0 win Friday night at home against Atlantic 10 Conference opponent St. Bonaventure. The Owls have scored 10 goals this season, allowing only nine in their first nine contests. The Owls have posted four shutouts and allowed just one goal in three other contests. The Owls lost 1-0 at Miami on September 4. Just like FIU, Florida Atlantic's leading scorer, Sammy Rowland, also has three goals scored this season. Keeper Sydney Drinkwater has made eight starts and has three shutouts for the year.
 
The contest is the first of the 10-game C-USA slate, which will continue at home the following Friday night against Charlotte at the FIU Soccer Stadium.
 
Player Q&A with freshmen Abby Logue (St. Johns, Florida / Creekside HS) and Gudrun Hoskuldsdottir (Hafnarfjordur, Iceland)…
 
How would you describe the team's improvement from the start of training camp and through the non-conference schedule?
Logue: I think the team overall has gotten more cohesion as time has gone on.
 
Hoskuldsdottir: We have used our time to learn our positions better.  
 
Logue: You can see that everyone is working for each other. When we are doing that, then we play better as a team.
 
Hoskuldsdottir: When they sent everyone into the box, even the forwards came down to help us defend. That's what it took to win the Miami game. That was an example of the team working as a unit.
 
Does the week heading into conference play feel any differently?
Logue: You can tell that conference is starting because of the extra effort that players have been putting in.
 
This is a longtime rivalry. Have you, as a freshman, bought into the importance of this game?
Hoskuldsdottir: We all have some familiarity with some of their players. I know their Icelandic girl. She and I traveled over on the plane to come to America back before camp. That should make this fun.
 
  
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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/.