Panthers show grit, outmatch Oregon State 1-0

When a winless team comes to town, immediately people think, “Oh, this is gonna be easy.”

Nothing came easy on Sept. 12 against Oregon State University.

The physicality peaked for 90 minutes. Head Official Andres Pfeffervon issued five yellow cards and a penalty kick, which was awarded to the University—all the makings of a tug-of-war battle between two teams.

“We [wanted] revenge,” said redshirt senior forward Chelsea Leiva. “We played [Oregon State] my freshman year and lost 7-0. They embarrassed us.”

The tone was set from the fifth minute onward, the first moment of many, where the Panthers displayed their tough abilities to win 50/50 chances all over the field. A strong midfielder in Talia McMurtrie was sidelined for tonight’s match with a right leg injury, presenting another challenge.

“I think she will be fine,” said Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt. “She will be out for just a little bit, but we’ll be ready to have her back.”

With a vacant starting position in the lineup, Chestnutt gave the start to freshman midfielder Courtney Phillips, which marked the first start of her collegiate career.

On how she adapted to the starting role, Phillips had this to say: “It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that bad. It was calming because my teammates were there to guide me. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

Phillips played an impressive 64 minutes and found ways to create space for her and her teammates, something she’s very accustomed to doing. But what exactly does the Arlington, TX, native brings to the team night in and night out?

“I guess I bring a unique Texas energy,” said Phillips.

Throughout the first half, both teams were chippy, resulting in five total fouls through 45 minutes, and 16 for the game. The Panther defense was stout all night and built their momentum from the beginning of the game. An early save at the 25th minute by freshman goalkeeper Nevena Stojakvic (two saves) reminded the Panthers that the Beavers of Oregon State were winless, not helpless.

Unfortunately for the head coach of Oregon State, Linus Rhode, his team couldn’t keep the Panthers out of their half of the field for the majority of the game. On the night, there were 13 shots and six on goal for the Panthers versus OSU’s four shots and two on goal. Still, the chances for both teams were presenting themselves.

“Well, we talked before the game about aggressiveness tonight. We felt we did a decent job of [being aggressive] in the first half, but needed to do more in the second,” said Chestnutt.

That mindset rang true to each and every player for the women’s team, as Chelsea Leiva (seven shots, two on goal) scored a go-ahead goal off a corner kick set piece by junior midfielder Madlen Weinhardt, her first assist of the season. With her 70th minute goal, Leiva moved into the number five spot all-time in goals (28) for FIU women’s soccer. The set-up and execution to the historic moment was a blur for Leiva, but the result was clear-cut.

“Honestly, [the goal] was a little bit of a blur,” said the lone scorer on the night. “There was a lot of frustration built up with the defenders getting too aggressive. It was a great ball-in…I think it kind of hit the side of my face, and my shoulder, and it went in.”

Whatever it takes—that’s the motto for this hungry Panther team. At the end of 90 minutes, FIU proved to quench their thirst for revenge and righted the ship with a 1-0 victory.

“We said, ‘Hey, remember: last time this was a 7-0 game against us,” said Chestnutt. “Our team had this in the back of their minds, and they wanted to get that right.”

FIU welcomes Stetson on Sept. 19, at 5 p.m. and looks to extend their winning streak to three games.

Notes

FIU Starting XI: Stojakovic, Phillips, Egan, Shim, Montoya, Hernandez, Weinhardt, Leiva, Rios, Stewart and Volz.

FIU Inactives: Talia McMurtrie and Ashley Westberry

Volz had a chance to go 2-2 in penalty kicks on the year at the 48th minute, but the ball met the left post, barely missing low.

Testament to the Panther’s defense: Both OSU goal-scorers on the year, Kayla Latham and Sabrina Santarossa, were held scoreless and without any shots.

Photo by Krono Lescano/ The Beacon