By: Anthony Guivas / Staff Writer
With the Golden Panthers coming off the heels of their third straight loss at the hands of Oregon State, a win on Sunday was a must.
So with FIU being only two days removed from the program’s worst loss since 1999, the Panthers looked to leave Oregon with a victory. And the Panthers did just that as they defeated the Oregon Ducks 2-1, improving to 3-5 on the year.
“We came out with a good game, we battled hard and it was a good team win today,” said Coach Thomas Chestnutt. “A good win and a great rebound from Friday night.”
FIU and the Ducks took to the pitch at exactly 11 a.m. pacific time, and it was apparent that FIU was not going to let this game slip away.
The Panthers and Ducks both battled back and forth for the majority of the first half, but eventually the Panthers broke through and scored their first goal of the day in the 21’ minute of regulation.
Chelsea Leiva dribbled through the middle and made a terrific pass to her left that found freshman Ashleigh Shim, who delivered a great shot, putting FIU on the board with a 1-0 lead. The goal was Ashleigh’s first goal of her career.
Defense played a very prominent role in this game as the Panthers and Ducks battled back and forth leaving very little margin for error. Thankfully, FIU’s goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage was on her A game, as she continuously kept the Oregon Ducks off the board. Kaitlyn stopped five total shots.
The first half ended with FIU up 1-0 but still under heavy duress, as the Ducks’ offense was continually pressing.
After a 15 minute break the Panthers and Ducks took the pitch once again and continued their seesaw affair.
With just two minutes in the second half, FIU had a striking ball cross, which headed towards the direction of an Oregon defender who accidentally touched the ball with her hands.
These turn of events led the referee to call a penalty kick in favor of FIU. Oregon hometown girl Joanna Volz took to the penalty box and delivered a fantastic strike, putting FIU on the board once again. giving FIU a 2-0.
Oregon quickly regrouped and became much more aggressive as they tried to even things up quickly. Finally, the Ducks executed a great play in the 63rd minute, which had Oregon’s Mo Fitzgerald pass the ball to Julie Armstrong, who then drove it home putting the game 2-1 with 27 minutes remaining.
But FIU did not shrivel up and let Oregon’s aggressiveness take full momentum. The Panthers’ defense stayed strong, keeping the Ducks at bay long enough for the clock to count down, finally ending the Panthers’ horrendous three game losing streak.
“I’m proud with the way the girls fought and battled and found a way to get their mental state back to a good place … it bodes well for us going forward,” Chestnutt said.
One stat that really stood out was the fact that FIU only had 11 total shots compared to the Ducks’ 17. That was eye opening, as the Panthers usually take many shots without being able to finish, but today they made each of their shots count.
But aside from that stat, what stood out the most for Coach Chestnutt was the way the girls rebounded from a tough loss.
“It shows that they have a lot of character, faith and fire, and that’s always good to see,” Chestnutt said.
The Panthers will now visit UALR up in Little Rock, Ark. this upcoming Friday.
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