HOUSTON, Texas – The FIU women's soccer team dropped a hard-fought matchup at Rice on Sunday afternoon, 3-0, as the Panthers hung with the Owls upon an 11-10 shot differential, though, just coming up short on a handful of scoring opportunities through the match.
 
The loss drops FIU to 2-4-1 and 0-1-1 in league play, while Rice moves to 3-7 and 2-0 in the Conference USA.
 
Despite the final margin, the young Panther squad – which consists of nine underclassmen in the starting 11 – held more than their own in possession for a majority of the contest against an experienced preseason favorite Rice squad, including members of the Owls' 2021 Sweet Sixteen squad.
 
The Owls narrowly edged FIU in shots, 11-10, including a 7-4 shot-on-goal margin, as the Panthers struck on several lethal shots on goal to which Rice's veteran goalkeeper Bella Killgore was able to corral four saves on.
 
Sophomore forward Farah El Tayar posted a pair of shots on goal for the contest, followed by shots on goal from freshman midfielder Catherine Rapp and sophomore forward Noemi Paquin.
 
Nikole Solis registered three shots in the match, while Chinatsu Kaio, Kim Schneider and Sydney Amparo round out the Panther attack on the day with one shot apiece. Ithaisa Vinoly finished with three saves in goal for the match.
 
The Owls broke the silence in the 11^th minute to get things started for the day, as Rice's Kallie McKinney played a ball into the left side of the box that Serena Pham would rifle to the back-right corner to put the Owls on the board, 1-0.
 
FIU answered making strides up the pitch, as El Tayar would launch a shot on goal just moments later prior to attempting another close-range finish inside the box off a cross that Rice's Killgore would manage to handle in the 15^th minute. From there, the duration of the first frame would be quiet, though, seeing a save from Vinoly in goal to ultimately send both teams into the intermission with a 1-0 margin.  
 
Coming out of the break, both squads traded a pair of shots prior to a controversial foul inside the box by the Panthers set up a Rice penalty kick in the 56^th minute. Rice's Killgore would be the recipient of the PK, going on to bury the shot and double the margin 2-0 early in the second half.
 
The Panthers didn't waiver however, immediately bouncing back on the attack to see Chinatsu Kaio find separation and laser a shot that unluckily nailed the top post, as Solis found herself in position for the follow-up shot that'd unfortunately sail high in the 58^th minute.
 
Shortly after, Ithaisa Vinoly corralled a pair of key saves in goal through the 65^th minute, though, a costly gamble outside the box on a ball in the 70^th minute would lead to an easy open-goal score for Rice's Jules Johnston to tack on the three-goal advantage with 20 minutes remaining.
 
The Panthers answered with a pair of chances, as Noemi Paquin found room to square up for a clean shot on goal that was met prior to Catherine Rapp nearly ending the drought on a cross from Amparo point-blank that Killgore managed to clean up in the 74^th minute. FIU continued to compete aggressively for the duration in limiting the Owls to any clean looks, however, time wasn't on its side as Rice eventually would go on to close out the match with the 3-0 victory by the end of regulation to come away with the result.
 
UP NEXT
The Panthers return home for a pair of C-USA matches at FIU Soccer Stadium, as FIU will host UAB in Miami on Thursday, Sept. 22, for a 7 p.m. matchup, followed by a matchup versus UTSA on Sunday, Sept. 25, at 11 a.m.
 
Both matches are scheduled to be broadcast on CUSA.tv.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Instagram (@FIUWSoccer), Twitter (@FIUWSoccer), and Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUWSoccer) for all the latest Women's Soccer news.
 
General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.