JACKSONVILLE, Florida (Feb. 14, 2021) – The FIU women's soccer team bounced back on Sunday morning with a golden-goal victory against Jacksonville, as the Panthers closed out the first road trip of 2021 with a 1-0 shutout win over the Dolphins in overtime.
With the win, FIU improves to 2-1 for the first time since joining Conference USA. Jacksonville's record falls to 0-4 on the season.
"Two matches in 48 hours is always a challenge," said Head Coach Jonathan Garbar. "Couple that with the fact that before this week, the group hadn't been in competition for over a full year. I'm extremely proud of the physical resilience and emotional maturity that the ladies exhibited this weekend. We have a tremendous amount of work to do, but as long as we continue to approach our goals with patience and purpose, the journey will be ours to claim."
The Panthers battled for a full 90 minutes in a scoreless match against the Dolphins before the game advanced to extra time. The FIU defense held strong on Sunday with the Panthers not allowing a shot-on-goal until the 79th minute. FIU saw shots-on-goal from Sophia Vilar, Sierra Moss, Carmen Marin, Laia Muñoz Danon, and Charity O'Neal in the first two periods and led in the shot-margin by a tally of 11-8 at the end of regulation.
The Panthers wasted little time in the overtime sequence, as Marin served up a dime in the 92nd minute to junior-transfer Ronja Cronvall, who found the back of the net to give the Blue & Gold its first golden-goal victory since Oct. 23, 2016, against UTSA.
FIU finished with 13 shot-attempts in the match and a season-high five shots-on-goal.
Cronvall scored her first goal as a Panther and recorded points for the first time this season. Marin logged her second assist of the 2021 campaign and continues to lead the team in the category.
Between the posts, Christina Velazquez nabbed two saves in 47 minutes of play and got the win as the Panthers posted their second clean sheet of the year.
Freshman Paige Davis saw her first action as a Panther off the bench and recorded one shot attempt.
UP NEXT
The Panthers have two more road contests on the slate next week, when they travel to Stetson to play the Hatters on Thursday, Feb. 18, at 6 p.m. ET, before heading to FGCU to play the Eagles on Sunday, Feb. 21, at 1 p.m. ET.
FAN ATTENDANCE
Due to physical distancing requirements, the total capacity at FIU Athletics events will be reduced this season. FIU's soccer games will be limited to 200 fans this spring due to the COVID-19 repopulation plan. For more information on tickets, including student ticketing, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit here.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Get all the latest information on the team by following @FIUWSoc Instagram and @FIUWSoccer on Facebook and Twitter. General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
