Kevin Calcagno / Staff Writer
The FIU women’s soccer team was bested by the Stetson Hatters last Thursday in Deland, losing by a score of 3-1.
FIU has an even 2-2 overall this season, and they are 1-2 away from home. They’re still in first place out of the seven teams in the Conference USA Eastern Division.
The Panthers dug themselves into a hole early, going into a 2 goal deficit within the first 30 minutes of the game. Stetson dispossessed FIU in their own defending third of the field and converted the opportunity into a goal in the 16th minute, taking an early 1-0 lead.
Stetson would go on to score a second goal in the 26th minute in the same fashion as the first, taking advantage of another turnover from the Panthers and increasing their lead to 2-0.
Five minutes later, forward Charity O’neil crossed the ball from the left side of Stetson’s goal. It was diverted, however it landed at midfielder Ranja Cronvall’s feet. Cronvall capitalized on the opportunity, and turned it into her second goal of the season, making the score 2-1 before halftime.
FIU put offensive pressure on Stetson to tie the game in the second half. However, in the 81st minute, a free kick opportunity from Stetson was successful, stretching their lead to 3-1. Their defense would secure the lead for the rest of the match.
Both teams had five shots on goal, but the Panthers defense was unable to save the majority of them, while the Hatters had only allowed one shot to go in.
FIU will have to immediately travel south to Fort Myers for a showdown against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Sunday, February 21st at 1pm.
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