Panthers unlucky in 2-0 defeat against FGCU

“There’s an old saying in soccer: You either take the chances or you don’t.”

Those were the words of Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt after the Panthers 2-0 defeat at the hands of Florida Gulf Coast University Wednesday. Although the chances for both squads were limited all night, the Eagles seemingly grasped their opportunities at lucky moments in the game.

There was something to prove coming into Friday evening. The Panthers, familiar with this team, were looking to rewrite the script (1-5-1 all-time against FGCU before Sept. 3).

Bodies flying, fists unintentionally landing in faces, soccer balls being careened into each other’s midsections—those were the ingredients to the recipe for this match. From the first minute, aggressiveness was being displayed from both teams.

After asked how she felt the defense did in the face of all the adversity, redshirt junior defender Nikki Rios said, “I thought we did really well. Sara Stewart did an awesome job of defending [FGCU’s] best [forward].”

Stewart, a redshirt junior midfielder, left the game in the second half at the 47th minute. She was victim of a hard hit in which her mouth took all of the brute force from an FGCU player. Stewart did not return for the rest of the game.

After Stewart’s exit, a first-time appearance for freshman defender Gabriella Bovo was made. Bovo played very well for 26 minutes in light of trying to fill an important void.

Tabby Tindell, sophomore forward for FGCU, gave her team an early lead at the sixth minute off an unlucky turnover by the Panthers. What should have been the simplest of exchanges proved to be the reason why Tindell was able to get a one-on-one opportunity at freshman goalkeeper Nevena Stojakovic and hit top shelf in net.

Going into halftime down by one goal did not discourage the Panthers, though.

“We knew right when we went into half that we [were much better] and how [FGCU] is giving false pressure,” said Rios.

Unfortunately for FIU, Tindell did not go quietly after her goal. She was the main benefactor on the second goal for the Eagles as her ball was crossed into the middle of the box and found by midfielder Paulin Speckmaier at the 57th minute. Stojakovic tried to deflect the ball outwards towards her defenders, who were eager to clear the ball-in, but to no avail.

The Panthers recognized the difficulties of trying to exploit the FGCU defense, but the struggles on Wednesday did not stem solely from the Eagles defense.

“We just really didn’t play our game,” said senior forward Ashleigh Shim. “We always had a game-plan… Not sure what it was today that made us play differently [versus] our play in California, where we played great.”

Throughout the match, there were chances for the Panthers to advance the ball towards positioned teammates. Freshman midfielder Paula Quintero had opportunities with forward Chelsea Leiva (two shots on goal) who was open on a couple possessions, but the ball just couldn’t fall into place. Quintero rebounded nicely after those mistimed passes, though, and finished with two shots and one on goal.

In the wake of the loss, one thing should be kept in mind: The Panthers are wonderful students of the game. Through five games, they’re 2-0 after a loss, a record they hope to keep undefeated by week’s end.

“The one thing that’s really important is we have to keep our heads and remember our [style] of play. That’s one thing we’ll take away from this game [against FGCU],” said Shim.

There are rare moments where a team outshoots the other (FIU 9, FGCU 8), is more active on-goal (FIU 3, FGCU 2) and loses. These moments are never flattering for the team not cheering at the end of the night. For Chestnutt and his team, however, they aren’t looking to sulk over the loss.

“We can make an excuse, or we can take it head on,” said Chestnutt. “I know we won’t make excuses and we’ll move forward.”

FIU plays game two of seven at home and takes on Murray State Friday, Sept. 5, at 5 p.m.

Note

FIU’s starting XI: Stojakovic, Egan,Shim, Montoya, Hernandez, McMurtrie, Weinhardt, Stewart, Leiva, Volz, Rios

The Panthers are now 0-2 at home.