Oklahoma City, OK. – The FIU women’s soccer team stays on the road, heading to Norman, Oklahoma to play on the Sooners’ home court, with both teams entering the game at 1-0-0.
Thursday, August 18 in Oklahoma
FIU started the season with a historic road win against Florida Gulf Coast University. It was the Panthers’ first win against the Eagles since the 2010 season.
FIU dominated on all fronts, holding FGCU to just five shots the entire game, while the Panthers fired 19 shots of their own. FIU’s only blemish on the game came at the 13:50 mark, when a misplaced pass gave the Eagles the equalizer at 1-0. The Panthers didn’t allow any more chances after that first goal by FGCU, allowing just three shots on goal the rest of the game.
The Panthers made the list thanks to their first year Antonella Solaricontributed a goal after another freshman colleague had provided a perfect assist Rebecca Baldelomar with the score 42:33 at the end of the first half. The goal was the first goal of the year for the Panthers and the first goal and assist in the careers of Solari and Baldelomar.
FIU stayed on the gas in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 8-2 in the final 45 minutes. The exclamation point came when Senior Nicole Solis scored the game-winning goal with 18:53 minutes left in the game. Solis led the team in goals and points in CUSA last season and entered the 2024 season with one point.
Second semester Valery Restrepowho played her first game as a goalie for the Panthers, played great behind FIU’s outstanding defense. Senior Reagan Bridgeswho played the entire 90 minutes as a defender, as well as 79 minutes from Farah El-Tayar, 75 minutes from Deborah Bien-Aime and 65 minutes from Delinda Sehlinfended off FGCU’s offensive pressure. The Eagles scored just one goal and were only able to get five shots on goal thanks to the Panthers’ smothering defense.
It is the second year in a row that the Panthers have started the season with an away win.
The Sooners in sight
Oklahoma finished the 2023 regular season with an overall record of 8-10-2 and a conference record of 3-5-2, and is projected to finish 13th in the SEC Preseason Poll in its inaugural season.
The Sooners began the season with a 1-0 road win over North Texas, with their only goal coming from junior Morganne Eikelbarner in the 28th minute.
The faster defense kept them in the game, allowing just six shots on the night, with goalie Caroline Duffy sealing the net with four saves in her debut for Oklahoma.
It will be the first time in program history that the Panthers will face Oklahoma.
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