MIAMI – The FIU women's soccer team takes its historic start of the season to Starkville, Miss, taking on the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sunday night in a pivotal Power 5 matchup.
Sunday, Aug. 27 vs. Mississippi State (2-0-1, 0-0 SEC)
The Panthers (3-0, 0-0 CUSA) comes off a third consecutive clean sheet victory in a 4-0 shutout over Jacksonville this past Thursday night.
Junior
Nikole Solis led the charge in the home-opener victory with a hat trick, the second of her career. Currently, Solis leads the country in goals (6) and boasts the most goals by a FIU player in the first three matches of a season.
The Blue & Gold offense is at an all-time program best through the first three games, outscoring their opponents 17-0, while sitting fifth in all of the nation in scoring offense.
FIU sits second in goals (17), points (60), shots (44) in Conference USA.
In addition to Solis, six Panthers are in the goals column including sophomore
Kim Schneider (3) goals. Juniors
Noemi Paquin,
Izelle Barriere, and sophomore
Kennedy Floyd each have two scores each. Graduate student
Camille Sahirul and sophomore
Chinatsu Kaio level with a goal.
Through three games, sophomore
Catherine Rapp leads the team in assists with two.
The backline has shined allowing no goals to their opponents, sitting atop of CUSA and tied for first in the nation.
Goalkeeper
Ithaisa Vinoly leads the conference in shutouts with two.
LAST TIME OUT
FIU 0-2 in their matches against Mississippi State.
The last matchup came last season on Aug. 22, 2022, as the Bulldogs came to Miami to pick up a 3-1 win.
Mississippi State notched a pair of goal in the first half, before pulling away to win the game.
Prior to their 2022 contest, both teams faced off on Sept. 7, 2003 in a 1-0 double overtime loss for FIU.
SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are coming off a 3-0 win this past Thursday against Northwestern State. Prior to their victory, the Bulldogs drew against Arizona State, 0-0, on Aug. 20.
The offense is led by Farleigh Dickerson transfer Aitana Martinez-Montoya with two goals and four points, followed by Bowling Green transfer and 2022 MAC Player of the Year Kennedy White with a goal in the early campaign. Maddy Anderson anchors the net, having played in all three games with eight saves.
Mississippi State recorded a 12-6-4 season record in 2022, including a trip to the NCAA tournament with a 2-1 opening round win over New Mexico State.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will be back in action at home on Thursday, Aug. 31 vs. Stetson University in a 7 p.m. ET start from FIU Soccer Stadium. The match can be streamed on ESPN+
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.
