Two former Panthers face off in 2019 World Cup

Written by Daniel Torres/Staff Writer

Two former Panthers are playing on soccer’s biggest stage, in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Thaisa Moreno, Brazil’s midfielder, played with the Panthers from 2009 to 2010. On Sunday,  June, 9th her team played Jamaica, whose Ashleigh Shim joined the Panthers just a year after Moreno left.

Moreno, who has played for numerous club teams, ended her run at FIU in 2010. She has played for multiple clubs, including Tyreso FF, Sky Blue FC and now recently signing with AC Milan before being called up to the Brazilian World Cup squad.

In 2014, she reached the UEFA Women’s Champions League final with Tyreso FF in which they were defeated by a score of 4-3 to the hands of Wolfsburg. “Isa”, as her teammates call her, had only scored four goals for Brazil before entering this summer’s tournament.

Shim who represented FIU from 2011 to 2014, scored 17 goals and made 13 assists during her time with the Panthers. She has only played with two club teams so far in her career, VFL Sindelfingen and FC Djursholm. The Caribbean born forward made 11 appearances and six goals for her club.

Shim is of Cayman descent through her grandmother.  In 2009, she represented the Cayman Islands in the Caribbean Soccer Union under-17 tournament. Her loyalty to the Cayman Islands switched in 2015 as Shim decided to represent Jamaica moving forward. She has made her debut in the 2018 CONCACAF Women’s Championship Qualification for Jamaica before being called up to this summer’s tournament.

The two former Panthers squared up in the second match of group C at the Stade des Alpes. As the South Florida community looked forward to these two players, the big story was the absence of  Brazil’s superstar Marta due to injury. Moreno was able to play a full 90 minutes in contrast to Shim who did not get any playing time as a substitute. With 17,668 fans in the stands, Brazil was able to handle Jamaica easily with a final score of 3-0.