By: Anthony Guivas / Staff Writer
Fans who came out to support the Golden Panthers facing off against the Kansas City Roos were treated to an exciting game on Sept. 2.
FIU entered the contest with a 2-2-0 record and were looking to get over .500, but to do so they had to face off against the traveling Kansas City Roos, who entered without a win after three games played.
Despite outshooting the Roos, the Golden Panthers dropped an overtime thriller by a 3-2 score to fall below .500 again. “You just need to keep your head up and try pushing through,” co-captain Victoria Milluci said. “I think we battled but it just wasn’t our day. No point in feeling sorry for yourself, I mean, you can’t blame anyone else but yourself.”
Both teams aligned themselves quickly and took to the pitch to square off. Surprisingly, the first half was continually going back and forth with momentum going towards FIU at one point and then shifting over to UMKC.
During the first half, the Golden Panthers defense was on shaky ground as the Roos continually applied pressure. FIU, on the other hand, was very impressive offensively as they finished with 12 shots compared to UMKC six shots.
Regardless, at the 27th minute of regulation, FIU freshman Nikkie Rios lost her train of thought as she was dribbling the ball in their own territory only to have the ball stolen by Ashley Gann, who stroked the ball past goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage to give the Roos the lead.
The goal put UMKC up 1-0 with 18 minutes remaining in the first half, but FIU was not going to let UMKC go off easy as Miliucci, who is known for her lock-down defense, took an assist from Nikki Rios and had a fantastic strike that zipped by UMKC goalkeeper Jami Finnell in the 37th minute of regulation to tie the game.
“It felt great to be able to help my team get on the board … so it was a good feeling,” said Miliucci.
Unfortunately for FIU, they could not keep the game tied for very long. Just two minutes after Miliucci’s goal, UMKC struck again, this time from Taylor Bare who took an assist from Allison Schau as she broke through FIU’s defense and fired the ball past the goalkeeper.
The first half concluded with a 2-1 score in favor of the Kansas City Roos and as the second half began, it was apparent from the start that UMKC wanted to finish FIU off, but the Panthers had a different plan.
After 10 minutes of UMKC controlling the tempo of the game, FIU quickly changed the momentum as their defense came alive and their offense continued to be persistent.
With FIU having multiple attempts at tying the game, the Panthers finally broke past the Roos defense in the 79th minute. Forward Chelsea Leiva took an assist from Kim Lopez and drove in the tying goal and giving the Panthers new life with 21 minutes left on the game clock.
FIU continued their offensive attack, firing shot after shot trying to close out UMKC and pick up the victory. But this was to no avail as the game clock expired and overtime began.
With both teams taking a five minute break, they set their strategies and hit the pitch once again. FIU then started right where they left off, constantly attacking UMKC.
But as much as FIU continued to attack, every shot was denied. So finally, with a one minute and 32 seconds remaining on the clock, UMKC took control of the ball and took a barrage of shots in Panther territory. With deflection after deflection, UMKC’s Laura Creason struck the final blow for the Roos, winning UMKC the game.
The game concluded as a win for the Roos. FIU ended the game taking a staggering 24 shots compared to UMKC’s 10.
Both head coach Thomas Chestnutt and the team were heartbroken by the deflating loss.
“We are just not good enough, that’s the bottom line. You have to pay attention to every area of the game,” Chestnutt said. “We have to do a better job and I take full responsibility as coach, we need do a better job.”
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