DALLAS, Texas – FIU Women's Soccer earns high honors during awards season, with Noemi Paquin securing CUSA Player of the Year and CUSA Offensive Player of the Year, while Reagan Bridges sees herself as Defensive Player of the Year. Eight Panthers made all-conference teams, the most in the Jonathan Garbar era.

Senior Noemi Paquin, a former 2023 First Team All-Conference honoree, put up her best numbers during the 2024 campaign with her best season of her career. The forward ended the season with 14 goals, most in Conference USA and tied for tenth in total goals in the country, 11 of which came against CUSA opponents. Paquin scored goals at an extremely high rate this season, scoring goals in six games in a row between September 12 and October 13, and scoring two or more goals in five out of the six games. 

Her best performance of the season came in the Panthers' first conference game, when the Canadian native put the team on her back and brought them back from a 1-0 deficit in the second half at Middle Tennessee, scoring her first hat-trick of her career in just 7 minutes and 30 seconds to give the Panthers the lead. The forward led CUSA with 86 shots, 45 shots on goal, .824 goals per game (T-10 in the country) and was second in game-winning goals with five.

With 14 goals, Paquin has the most scores in a season by an FIU player since 2001, and has shot herself up FIU's all-time records, tying herself for sixth all-time in career goals with 26. On top of her Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year awards, Paquin was also named as a First Team All-Conference selection.

Senior Reagan Bridges has been a mainstay in the Panthers' defensive rotation since she was recruited to FIU as a freshman. A 2023 Second Team All-CUSA defender, the Colorado native saw the most minutes in a regular season of her career this year, playing in 90 minutes in 15 of the Panthers' 17 games played this season, including the last 10 games in a row to end the season. 

Bridges is the center-back and leader of an FIU defense that let up the second fewest goals in CUSA with just 14, second fewest goals allowed in a season in FIU history. The Panthers were also second in goals allowed per game with just a .83 opponent average. Bridges led her defense to eight clean sheets on the season, the most since she joined FIU in the 2021 season. The defender ended her regular season with one goal, with her play seeing her named as the CUSA Defensive Player of the Year, as well as First Team All-Conference.

Senior Deborah Bien-Aime is the third and final Panther to be named a CUSA First Team All-Conference recipient. The midfielder started in 16 out of FIU's 17 games so far this season, seeing the most minutes of her career with 1,333. 

The Florida native saw 12 games where she played 70 or more minutes. Ending the season with one assist and one point.

Senior Nikole Solis was named as a CUSA All Conference Second-Team member for the second year in a row. The forward had another goal-packed year, scoring eight goals this season, tied for sixth in CUSA. The Boca Raton native also was a nice facilitator for the Panthers this season, garnering three assists on the year and ending with 19 points, eighth in CUSA.

Junior Catherine Rapp sees herself on the CUSA All Conference Second-Team for the first time, after a year that saw her start all 17 games on the season and play 1,304 minutes, all of which are career highs for the midfielder. The Colorado native ended the regular season with two goals on 21 shots and 13 shots on goal, adding on two assists to her sheet. She had one game-winning goal on the season, scoring against Liberty in the first minute of a 3-0 victory for the Panthers.

Senior Zora Jackson is another CUSA All Conference Second-Team selection with for the Panthers. The defender broke onto the scene in her first campaign with the Panthers, starting in eight of her 13 games played this season, including seven straight to end the regular season. The North Carolina native has seen herself as a main contributor in six clean sheets this season, playing 638 minutes on the year. 

A 2023 All Conference Third-Team selection, Delinda Sehlin was selected to the second team this season after starting in 14 of her 16 games played this season. The senior defender saw 12 games of 70 or more minutes, playing 1,184 minutes on the year, the second most of her career. Sehlin played 90 minutes eight times this season, and was a primary defender for seven shutouts on the year.

FIU's final CUSA All Conference Second-Team selection was their starting goalkeeper for every game this season, sophomore Valery Restrepo. The Colombian native was superb for the Panthers in her first year with the team, coming in second in the conference with just .78 goals allowed per game on the year. Restrepo was credited with six shutouts on the season, tied for first in CUSA, and allowed just 13 goals on 128 shots seen.

The Panthers will look to continue their winning ways in the 2024 Conference USA Women's Soccer Championships, hosted by FIU. 

UP NEXT

The Panthers will have a bye into the semi-finals of the CUSA Women's Soccer Tournament, awaiting the results of No. 5 MTSU and No. 4 Sam Houston. The game will be played on Friday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m., broadcasted on ESPN+ with live stats available.

TICKETS

Tickets for the event can be found at FIUTickets.com, with single game tickets as well as all-tournament passes available for purchase.

Conference USA Tournament Schedule:

Game 1: November 6 - 4:00 p.m.

Game 2: November 6 - 7:00 p.m.

Game 3: November 8 - 4:00 p.m.

Game 4: November 8 - 7:00 p.m.

Game 5 (Championship): November 10 - 2:00 p.m.

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.