MIAMI, Fla. – The FIU women's soccer team posted a resilient second-half effort to record a 1-1 draw after trailing in the first half against UTSA on Sunday afternoon, as freshman midfielder Kim Schneider net the equalizer in the 55^th minute to provide the spark for the Panthers en route to the stalemate at FIU Soccer Stadium.
 
The Panthers move to 2-5-2 and 0-2-2 in Conference USA action, while UTSA moves to 6-2-3 and 1-1-2 in league play.
 
A competitive matchup that saw a combined 26 shots for the match, the Roadrunners finished with a 15-11 shot advantage, including 6-4 shots on goal, though, FIU's defense buckled down over the final 45 minutes to limit UTSA to one goal for the match.
 
Schneider, a freshman from Herford, Germany, recorded her first career Panther goal behind a team-high three shots on the afternoon to knot the match up as she continues to improve through seven starts this season.
 
Farah El Tayar, Kennedy Floyd and Noemi Paquin also recorded shots on goal in the match, while Nikole Solis added two shots, followed by shots from Dominique Marcelli and Idelys Vazquez.
 
Senior goalkeeper Ithaisa Vinoly recorded five saves in goal for the tie, highlighted by a vital penalty kick save to end the first half and a strong second half performance in which three saves came on a plethora of close calls to maintain the deadlock.

Heading into Sunday's contest, FIU sat third among the C-USA for saves (4.00/g).
 
The action began right off the bat between the two squads, seeing both teams trade early corner kick opportunities that resulted in a Vinoly save and high shot from Dominique Marcelli through the opening 10 minutes. After a brief period of back-and-forth play, UTSA then found a break that'd go on to see Alissa Stewart find the back of the net to put the Roadrunners up early in the 22nd minute, 1-0.
 
The Panthers found opportunities of their own shortly after, seeing shots from Vazquez and Solis prior to Farah El Tayar launching a shot on goal that UTSA's Jil Schneider met in the 41^st. FIU dodged a close call just before the end of the half, as Vinoly would get whistled for a yellow card on a one-on-one in the box with UTSA's Marlee Fray in the 44^th minute for a PK that Vinoly would swat off the top post before a Fray follow-up sailed over the goal to send both teams into the intermission.
 
Out of the break, the UTSA found itself in Panther territory, as a frantic skirmish inside the box that saw several blocked shots from FIU's defenders paired with a couple of crucial saves from Vinoly kept the Roadrunners off the board in the 49^th minute to keep the one-goal margin early on.
 
The Panthers started to shape into form following their halftime adjustments, as Kim Schneider worked her space to find enough cushion in the 55th to launch a deep shot from outside the top-left side of the 18-yard box that sailed over UTSA's Schneider in goal for the equalizer.
 
FIU's defense continued to hold strong while the Panthers began to find breaks with a trio of shots between Noemi Paquin and Schneider prior to Kennedy Floyd nearly tacking on the go-ahead score on a strike inside the box that'd unfortunately be saved in the 78^th minute.
 
Vinoly went on to add her fifth save on a UTSA shot in the 85^th while FIU then pushed its attack for a last-minute look, seeing Farah El Tayar receive a well-played ball that led to separation in which she flicked a shot off the keeper. Off the shot, the Panthers played one final ball into the box that'd end up being deflected off a mix of FIU and UTSA players to no avail upon the final horn for the 1-1 draw at the end of regulation.
 
UP NEXT
FIU travels to Ruston, La., next weekend for a Sunday afternoon tilt at Louisiana Tech on Oct. 2. Kickoff is slated for a 2 p.m. start 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.