MIAMI (Aug. 24, 2014) – The FIU women's soccer team (1-1-0, 0-0-0) captured its first win of the team's 30^thseason on Sunday, blanking the North Florida Ospreys, 3-0. Freshman goalkeeper Nevena Stojakoviccaptured her first career shutout, as the Panthers' offense suffocated the Ospreys', 18-5, in shots, while allowing zero shots on goal.

"We were able to control the game from a possession standpoint," Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt said. "It was a solid win on both sides of the ball. Offensively, getting three goals is always good. Defensively, getting the shutout is always exciting. It was a good way to finish off the weekend."

Senior Ashleigh Shim's two-goal performance moved the Jacksonville, Fla., native into the program's top 10 list for scoring, tying her with Joleen Hinks (1994-95) with 17 career goals. It's also the fourth multi-goal game of her career.

"It's always good to pick up a win early in the season," Shim said. "Today set a nice tone for our road trip next weekend. Overall, it was a great team effort."

 The eventual game-winner, Shim put the Panthers ahead, 1-0, in the 18^th minute. Off a ball played down the right side by redshirt junior Scarlet Montoya, a quick cross towards center connected with Shim for the easy in. Senior Johanna Volz made it 2-0 three minutes later, courtesy of a penalty kick. She was 1-for-1 in penalty kicks as a junior.

The Panthers' attack pressed the Ospreys early, as two fouls on North Florida in the first five minutes allowed for two scoring opportunities for FIU. Testing North Florida's Megan Dorsey often, sophomore Talia McMurtrie rattled two shots off in the first 12 minutes, one of which was blocked inside the box.

FIU entered halftime surrendering just two shots to North Florida and held a 12-2 edge in shooting. Redshirt senior Chelsea Leiva and Montoya each collected three shots apiece.
 
Montoya continued to test the Ospreys' backline to open the second half. Twice before the 57-minute mark the Miami native had a quality look. She finished with a team-high six shots in the game. Shim's second goal put FIU up, 3-0. In the 77^th minute, Levia dished a quick pass to Shim on the right side, resulting in a long-range goal for the forward. Leiva was credited with her first assist of the season on the play.
 
Holding its backline strong all game, it's the first time since Aug. 30, 2013 that the Panthers held a team to less than five shots in a match.
 
"There was good organization in the back today," senior Marie Egan said. "As a team, defensively, we zoned in and were ready to play."

FIU will now turn its attention to a West Coast test next weekend. The Panthers will face Santa Clara at 10:00 p.m. ET on Friday. The Broncos rounded out the top 10 in the NSCAA's preseason poll.
 
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWomensSoccer) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUWSoccer) for all the latest FIU women's soccer news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports, and is a proud member of Conference USA. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and the FIU Football Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls nearly 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.

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