MIAMI – Women's soccer to host Howard in a Sunday matinee on August 30 at 1 p.m. at Leyva Family Field at FIU Soccer Stadium.

Sunday, August 30 at 1 p.m.

• Time / Site: 1 p.m. / Leyva Family Field at FIU Soccer Stadium

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

The Panthers are still seeking their first winning result of the season after going 0-2-3 in their first five matches of the 2026 campaign. FIU's last matchup saw the team face an FGCU squad that had beaten SEC school LSU in their previous matchup, with the Panthers playing to a draw against the Eagles, 2-2.

Game Preview

This will be the first match the Panthers will play against the Bison since the 2000 season when FIU beat Howard in an 8-1 result. 

FIU now has three goal scorers on the season, with freshman Yuzu Tanida netting the Panthers' first goal of the campaign at Florida Atlantic, and freshman Madeline Oliver scoring as well in a draw against North Florida. Sophomore Maria Lucia Dogliani is the Panthers' newest goal scorer, with the Italy native scoring her first career goal in FIU's draw at FGCU.

A pair of seniors in Adria Kitzinger and Mariana Barreto have both dished out one assist on the season, with Kitzinger assisting on Tanida's goal at Florida Atlantic and Barreto assisting on Dogliani's goal at FGCU. 

Senior goalkeeper Valery Restrepo comes into the contest with 18 saves on the season, tying a career-high with eight saves in FIU's draw at FGCU.

Scouting the Bison

Howard is coming off a 2025 season that saw the Bison win nine contests in a 9-7-3 season, going 7-2-2 in NEC-play. Going into the tournament as the three-seed, Howard dropped its semifinals matchup to the eventual champions in two-seed Wagner.

The 2026 campaign has seen Howard compete in three matches this far, going 0-1-2, with draws against George Washington (0-0) and Hampton (1-1). The Bison's lone loss of the season was in their last matchup against FIU rival, Florida Atlantic, dropping the match 7-0.

Howard has one goal scorer on the season in freshman Dominique Desert, who scored in the Bison's draw against Hampton. Two of her teammates assisted on the goal in junior Imani Kissi and senior Alauna Rutland.

Senior Trinity Knox has seen all of the action in the net for Howard, coming into the matchup with a 2.67 goals against average and 27 saves.

Match Notes

FIU is 2-0 all-time against Howard, with a +10 goal differential after beating the Bison 3-0 in 1999 and 8-1 in 2000.

FIU's match against then-ranked No. 4 Florida State marked the first time the Panthers played a defending national champion since 1999, when FIU played the 1998 national champion Florida Gators, losing 8-0.

The Panthers' back-to-back matches against then-ranked No. 4 Florida State and No. 2 Duke was the first time in program history FIU played top-5 teams in consecutive matches.

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.