Bautista Samperi | Staff Writer
The FIU women’s soccer team keeps rolling as it is one win away from being crowned Conference USA champions.
The Panthers beat Middle Tennessee 2-0 to advance to their first-ever conference championship game.
Despite a slow start to the game in which both teams appeared to not want to make any mistakes, the Panthers were able to dominate possession and hold the Blue Raiders to zero shots during the half.
It was far from the Panthers’ best game, but as they had done all season, they found a way to overcome the opposing team’s pressure and come away with a win.
Junior Catherine Rapp gave FIU the lead in the 23rd minute after a great assist by senior Delinda Sehlin.
As it has been for most of the season, sophomore goalkeeper Valery Restrepo did not have much work as the visiting MTSU only managed one shot during the entire game.
In the second half, the Panthers came out on the attack, tallying four shots for a total of seven in the game.
It was not until the 76th minute that FIU would find a second goal and double their lead.
It was senior forward Noemi Paquin who, after another great assist by Sehlin, would find the back of the net for her 15th goal of the season and put the definitive score on the board.
After the final whistle, the players rushed the field to celebrate after advancing to the championship game. It was a moment filled with excitement, hugs and cheers as the players embraced each other knowing that they were one step closer to their ultimate goal.
In the midst of the celebration, Head Coach Jonathan Garbar reflected on what was going through his mind after the game, already focusing on his team’s next match.
“I need to get my players prepared in the next 24 hours. There are a lot of emotions right now, excitement, but I need to make sure I let them enjoy it and I have to do my job and put them in the best position to perform on Sunday,” he said.
Now in his fourth year, Garbar has seen his team’s record improve each season. It’s been a long process, one in which he’s had to keep his players focused and believing they could achieve this level of success.
“The most important thing is finding a balance of patience and focus. You’re not gonna see real growth unless you have patience with the process.” Garbar said. “A lot of people are now seeing the outcome of what we’ve done but we have been doing this for a while. What’s easy to see is the wins but we’ve been doing what we need to do at a very high level for a long time.”
The Panthers will look to finish their storybook season and advance to the NCAA tournament with a championship win against the defending champion Liberty Flames.
The match will be played on Sunday, Nov. 10 at 2 p.m. at Leyva Family Field at FIU Soccer Stadium.
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