Fort Myers, Fla. – The FIU Women's Soccer team will head west across the Sunshine State for their first matchup of the 2024 regular season against the 2023 ASUN Champions in Florida Gulf Coast University.
Thursday, Aug. 15 at FGCU
In head coach Jonathan Garbar's fourth year at the helm, this year's team will be the final season for his first recruiting class after being hired, with nine seniors from that initial class returning this season including 2023 First Team All-CUSA selection Noemi Paquin, Second Team All-CUSA selections Reagan Bridges, Nikole Solis and Camille Sahirul, and Third Team selection Delinda Sehlin.
FIU will be returning four of last season's five top goal scorers in Solis (10), Paquin (5), Sahirul (3) and sophomore Kennedy Floyd (3), the lot of which combined to score the most goals per game in CUSA last season with 2.11. Paquin and Solis also contributed more than just goals, with Solis leading CUSA in points last season with 23, and Paquin placing fourth in the league in assists with five.
Key returners on defense consist of seniors Deborah Bien-Aime, Bridges, and Sehlin who all contributed to a Panthers team that allowed the third fewest goals per game in the conference with just 1.06, and helped supply a goals scored/goals allowed margin of +1.05, second most in CUSA during the 2023 season.
A plethora of new players will be making their first appearances for FIU on the pitch during Thursday night's matchup, including new goalies Valery Restrepo and transfer Odaliana Gomez. Additional transfers include forward Ashly Martinez, who scored 47 goals and produced 10 assists in her time at JUCO Arizona Western State. Montelene Dymond, a transfer forward from Kansas, midfielder Olivia Potter from Old Dominion and defender Zora Jackson from Maryland will also all be contributing members on the field for the Panthers this season.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
The Panthers will be tested early in the season, as Florida Gulf Coast University ended the 2023 regular season as the ASUN Conference Tournament Champions after finishing third in the conference with a 12-5-5, 7-1-3 ASUN record. In the NCAA Tournament, the Eagles lost in the first round to Texas Tech, 1-0.
FGCU was second in the ASUN in goals scored last season, netting 33 goals on the season and averaging 1.5 goals per game. The Eagles will be welcoming back their top three goal scorers from the 2023 season in Erika Zschuppe (10), Kendall Gargiual (8) and Ashley Labb (6), all of which were in the top-10 of the ASUN in goals scored and total points.
The Eagles were also second in the ASUN in goals allowed with just 0.82 goals allowed per game, and a goals scored/goals allowed margin of +0.68.
FGCU came in at No. 1 in the ASUN preseason poll with Ashley Labbe earning ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, Erika Zschuppe getting awarded ASUN Preseason Midfielder of the Year, senior Reese Mendenhall receiving ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and sophomore Olivia Molina earning ASUN Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year.
FIU fell to the Eagles in their only matchup last season, 1-0.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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