MIAMI (August 19, 2017) – The FIU women's soccer team kicks off the 2017-18 athletics calendar on Sunday, Aug. 20 at 6 p.m. when the crosstown rival Miami Hurricanes visit the FIU Soccer Stadium. Sunday will also mark the debut of first-year Panthers Head Coach Sharolta Nonen.
 
FIU looks for its second-consecutive win over Miami following last season's 1-0 thriller in Coral Gables. The Panthers pounced quickly for their earliest goal of the season. Off a Miami turnover in the defensive third, former FIU standout Alyssa Robinson beat the keeper on her own in the fifth minute for the opening goal and what would eventually be the game-winner.
 
Sunday's match will be only the third meeting between the two schools separated by 10 miles since the 2008 season.  
 
The meeting with the Hurricanes is the lone home match that FIU will play in its first five contests. The Panthers will travel to New England to battle Dartmouth on Aug, 25 and then the Vermont on Aug. 27. FIU then returns to the Sunshine State and heads up Interstate 95 to take on North Florida on Sept. 1 and Jacksonville on Sept. 3. FIU returns home on Sept. 7 to face Stetson at 7 p.m.
 
FIU Athletics has also instituted new Clear Bag Guidelines for athletics events. Click here for more information.

For women's soccer ticket information, contact the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWSoccer) 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. Athletic events are played in eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Lime Court at FIU Arena and Riccardo Silva Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is classified by Carnegie as a "R1: Doctoral Universities - Highest Research Activity" and recognized as a Carnegie Community Engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as business, engineering, computer science, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes almost $9 billion each year to the local economy and is ranked second in Florida in Forbes Magazine's "America's Best Employers" list. FIU graduates are consistently among the highest paid college graduates in Florida and are among the leaders of public and private organizations throughout South Florida. 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 with multiple state-of-the-art research facilities including the Wall of Wind Research and Testing Facility, FIU's Medina Aquarius Program and the Advanced Materials Engineering Research Institute.  FIU has awarded more than 220,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, the Miami Beach Urban Studios, and Tianjin, China. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and more than 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.