Lynchburg, Va. – FIU Women's Soccer (6-3, 1-0 CUSA) hits the road again to take on Liberty (9-0-2, 1-0 CUSA) in their second conference match of the season on Friday, September 27 at 6:00 p.m., streaming on ESPN+.

Friday, Sep. 27 at Liberty

• Time / Site: 6 p.m. / Osborne Stadium

• TV

• Live Stats

• Presented by Baptist Health, The Official Sports Medicine Provider of FIU Athletics 

The Panthers are coming off a thrilling 4-2 victory over Middle Tennessee, their first win at Murfreesboro in the Jonathan Garbar era and their first conference win of the season.

The Blue Raiders started the contest with an early goal, going up 1-0 in the sixth minute. Despite the goal, both sides played well for the Panthers in the opening frame, with FIU getting off nine shots to MTSU's eight in the first 45 minutes, but could not find their way to the back of the net. The match would go into the half with Middle Tennessee leading 1-0.

Out of the half, FIU kept the pressure on MTSU, tying the game at the 62:02 mark thanks to a Noemi Paquin goal from deep outside the box, assisted by junior Catherine Rapp. It would not take long for the Panthers to take the lead, with Noemi Paquin scoring once again on a header with the help of senior Deborah Bien-Aime who assisted on the goal in the 71st minute. 

Paquin did not wait to continue putting her mark on the match, scoring her third and final goal of the contest nine seconds later after stealing the ball on the MTSU inbound and promptly finishing her hat trick.

Sophomore Montelene Dymond completed the scoring for the Panthers at the 72:27 mark, shifting her way in between Blue Raider defenders before hitting a strike into the back of the net, her third goal of the season.

SO FAR THIS SEASON

FIU is 6-3 and 1-0 in conference play heading into their matchup with the CUSA leader Liberty Flames. Their first two wins of the season came against FGCU, winning against the Eagles for the first time since the 2010 season, and Florida Atlantic, beating the Owls for the first time since the 2011 season. Their third victory came against another Florida team in Jacksonville in a 3-0 result. The Panthers cruised through their next three victories, beating Southeastern Louisiana 6-0, SEMO 3-0 and MTSU 4-2.

All three losing results for the Panthers have come by just one goal, including against two Power-4 schools in Oklahoma, who is currently ranked No. 16 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, and Miami.

Noemi Paquin, after scoring five goals in her past two games, is fourth in CUSA in goals scored with six on the year thus far. Nikole Solis is not far behind her, with the senior netting five goals on the year, good for seventh in CUSA. Montelene Dymond is third on the Panthers with three goals, while senior Arianna Sparrow has netted two so far this season. Senior Reagan Bridges, along with juniors Ashly Martinez, Elizabeth Rapp, Catherine Rapp and first year Antonella Solari are all credited with one goal on the season.

Antonella Solari scored the first goal for the Panthers on the season off of an assist by fellow first year Rebecca Baldelomar, an equalizer at the end of the first half of their win against FGCU.

THE RETURNERS

FIU welcomes back nine seniors this season, including First Team All-CUSA selection Noemi Paquin, Second Team selections Reagan Bridges, Camille Sahirul and Nikole Solis, and Third Team selection Delinda Sehlin.

Solis was the leading scorer for the Panthers in 2023 with 10 goals, and led CUSA in points with 23, while Paquin was eighth in CUSA in points last season with five goals and five assists.

SCOUTING THE FLAMES

Liberty has been off to a blazing beginning of the season, ending non-conference play 8-0-2 and cruising to a 4-0 victory over Jacksonville State in their first conference match of the season. The Flames were projected to finish first in the CUSA Preseason Poll, with four players in goalkeeper Ainsley Leja, defender Sallie Garner, and forwards Ivy Garner and Ava Goodman placed on the Preseason All-Conference Team.

Forward Halle Engle has had a great start to the season, leading CUSA with eight goals on the season and leading the NCAA with five game-winning goals thus far. Midfielder Gabby Miranda is second on the team in goals with four on the season, while five other Flames have two or more goals heading into their match with the Panthers.

Liberty has played both their goalkeepers in Grace Workman and Peyton Huber an even amount, their combined GAA coming out to 0.55. Sophomore Workman has been extremely impressive during her time in goal, playing 495 minutes on the season with a 0.18 GAA and one goal allowed. Her 92.9% save percentage is top in CUSA so far this season.

CUSA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive Player of the Week

September 17 - Noemi Paquin

September 24 - Noemi Paquin

Defensive Player of the Week 

August 27 - Reagan Bridges

Goalkeeper of the Week

August 27 - Valery Restrepo

September 10- Valery Restrepo

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.