JONESBORO, Ark. (Oct. 18, 2012) – In muddy and windy conditions, the FIU women’s soccer team won a 3-1 decision over Arkansas State on Thursday afternoon at the ASU Soccer Complex. 

 

“I thought we played well today,” Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt said. “It was good to see the team start off strong. Arkansas State likes to play high pressure and I thought the girls did a good job dealing with it. We actually used their play to our advantage to create scoring opportunities. Today’s conditions made the game a little bit challenging. But, we stayed focused and it was that focus which produced today’s positive result. ”

 

“We came out today looking to maintain possession,” sophomore Johanna Volz said. “We did a good job of that.  We knew that they were going to high pressure us and I thought we handled it well.” 

 

Three different Panthers scored in the contest, including freshman Morgan Morris, who notched the game-winning score in the 36th minute. On a corner kick by sophomore Ashleigh Shim, Morris collected the corner inside the 18-yard box, turned and drove a shot into the back of the net for her first-career goal. Shim was credited with an assist on the score; the first of two on the day for the Jacksonville, Fla., native.

 

“I got the ball in the area, turned and shot it,” Morris said. “I really didn’t even think about it; it was instinctual.”

 

Morris’ goal gave FIU a 2-0 advantage early in the contest. The Panthers got their first score of the day when junior Nicole DiPerna netted her second goal of the season in the 11th minute.  The Melbourne, Fla., native took a low shot from the right side of the box, beating ASU goalkeeper Aja Aguirre. Sophomore forward Scarlett Montoya recorded her third assist of the season on the goal and extended her point-scoring streak to five games. 

 

Arkansas State pulled within one in the 38th minute with a goal by Loren Mitchell. However, Volz made it a two-goal game three minutes later, notching her fourth score of the season. Junior Kim Lopez and Shim were credited with assists on the Portland, Ore., native’s goal in the 41st minute.

 

“This was an important road win for us,” Volz said. “But, we treat every game the same and know that although we won today, we need to continue to get better.”

 

With all of the fireworks in the first half, neither team found the back of the net in the final 45 minutes. It was a half that saw ASU hold a 9-5 advantage in total shots. 

 

Goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage picked up her ninth win of the season, making seven saves in 86 minutes of action. 

 

Today’ game proved that a team does not have to take a ton of shots in order to win the contest. For the contest, the Panthers recorded 10 total shots with four on net, resulting in three goals. In all, Arkansas State out-shot FIU, 16-10, in total shots and, 8-4, on goal. The Panthers held a 9-1 edge in corner kicks and were extremely aggressive against the Red Wolves’ high pressure, being called offsides six times. 

 

“I want to congratulate the team for today’s win,” Chestnutt said. “I am proud of them. They are showing a level of maturity that will take us a long way.”

 

With the win, FIU extends its unbeaten streak to five games (4-0-1) and moved FIU into third place in the Sun Belt Conference standings. The win improves FIU’s record all-time versus Arkansas State to 11-1-2, including a current eight-game, winning streak. 

 

“We have momentum and we need to finish the season strong,” Morris said. “Today’s win helps put us in a good spot as the regular season winds down.”

 

“This was a good win for us,” Chestnutt said. “Now we can turn our attention to returning home and towards UALR.”  

 

The Panthers will return to Miami to host the UALR Trojans on Sunday, Oct. 21, in the final home match of the 2012 campaign. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m. ET.

 

For tickets information for this Sunday’s game, fans can call the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com. Those Panther fans unable to attend the game can follow all of the action on PantherVision (live streaming). For more information, log onto www.FIUSports.com and access “Live Events” from the Multimedia tab.

 

Fans are encourage to follow @FIUWomensSoccer on Twitter, and “Like” FIU women’s soccer on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/FIUWSoccer) for the latest Panther soccer news. Follow all of FIU’s 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), Pinterest (FIUAthletics), and Instagram (FIUathletics).   

 

About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU’s campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

 

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelors, masters 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 50,000 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. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.