Overtime goal lifts Golden Panthers to third straight win

By: Anthony Guivas / Staff Writer

As the Panthers won their first game of conference play last Friday night against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Trojans, FIU has the golden opportunity to finish their four-game road trip with a .500 record.

But to achieve it, the Golden Panthers had to face off against the gritty Arkansas State Red Wolves. The last time these two teams faced off, FIU had a dramatic 1-0 victory in double overtime.

So at exactly 1 p.m., the Panthers and Red Wolves took to the pitch and the game was a repeat performance of a year ago as FIU defeated the Wolves 2-1 in overtime.

The Panthers and Wolves battled early, but FIU clearly controlled the tempo of the game and rarely allowed the Wolves to have any momentum offensively. FIU had plenty of clean shots, but the Wolves goalkeeper Aja Aguirre kept the Panthers at bay for most of the game.

But Aguirre could not stay perfect as the Panthers finally broke through the Wolves’ defense in the 39th minute.  As sophomore Nicole DiPerna scored her first goal of the 2011 season, she took a pass from co-captain Kelly Ann Hutchinson that sent the ball to the left side of the crossbar away from the reach of Aguirre.

“We controlled the ball very well and created great opportunities, and it finally paid off,” head coach Thomas Chestnutt said.

The Panthers were then up 1-0 with six minutes remaining in the first half. FIU then carried that lead to half time and also carried a shot advantage of eight to three. Once half time concluded, both clubs took to the pitch and the Panthers continued to control the game.

But UALR took control of a lucky opportunity in the 60th minute, as the Wolves’ Jessica Jingblad took advantage of a loose ball and shot it to the top of the box, thus tying the game at 1-1.

FIU continued to attack, but it was to no avail as the Wolves goalkeeper saved five total shots in the second period, making the Panthers work for their victory.

“We created great opportunities, but their goalkeeper had a good game and had great saves,” Chestnutt said.

So as the second half minutes began dwindling down, memories of last season’s game began to surface with overtime just around the corner.

Once the second half concluded, both teams took another 15-minute breather and overtime commenced. The beginning of the first overtime started right where the second period left off, as both teams stayed even throughout.

As time was winding down on the first half of overtime, it seemed more and more evident that a second overtime was in order.

But senior April Perry had something to say about that, as she received an amazing pass from Ashleigh Shim that translated into a shot that hit perfectly off the crossbar for the win.

“We are coming together better as a team little by little and they are working harder for each other, which is great to see and it was a total team effort this weekend,” Chestnutt said. “Everybody played a part and it was great to get those two wins.”

The Panthers are now ridding high, stringing together three wins in a row and have tallied their record to an even .500. FIU will now head back home with Troy waiting on the horizon.

When asked about Troy, Chestnutt answered, “We will be ready.”