Women’s soccer looks to build on last season’s success

The Panthers Women’s Soccer team will return to FIU Friday, Aug. 27, for its 7 p.m. home opener against Delaware State. The team is coming off a three-game road trip that ended with a thrilling double-overtime win (1-0) for the Panthers against Florida Gulf Coast University. With the victory the team recorded its first win of the young season and served notice that its performance last season was no fluke.

The team put up one of FIU’s notable turnarounds last season. Under the direction of head coach Thomas Chestnutt, the team has gone from last place in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) to last year’s regular-season SBC champions, all within the space of three years. Joining Chestnutt on this journey are his three captains: seniors Mayara Bordin and Kassandra Sorzano and junior April Perry.

“It’s been great,” says Sorzano, who has been here from the beginning.  “Every year we’ve gotten better. My freshman year we were in 12^th place, the next year we jumped to sixth, and last year we were in first.”

Added Perry, who is the youngest of the three, “My first year coming in I didn’t expect us to get to sixth so quickly, but I noticed we had more consistent effort from players. We kept on trying to get that next win.”

The team not only won the SBC regular-season crown with a conference record of 9-1-1, it was also ranked ninth overall in the Southeast Region, one of the most competitive in women’s soccer.  Since the end of last season, the players have been working hard both on and off the field, trying to build better cohesion and raise their soccer IQ’s.

“You need to be able to understand what is going on throughout the entire field,” added Bordin, a native of Brazil.

“We train really hard, if we aren’t on the field training we’re in the room watching video, conducting group sessions, and just a lot of practice,” said Sorzano.  “We have a stronger mentality now, the team chemistry is much better, we have higher expectations and work hard to not only meet but exceed them.”

“We are just a lot more cohesive,” says Perry. “We do team bonding things off the field and it helps. The more we do off the field, the better we do on the field.”

All of this has resulted in growing confidence and optimism on the part of the players.

“It is my senior year so I want to win the conference championship,” said Bordin. “This year I want to have my best season ever.”

Not only the team has changed, but the players themselves have grown. “When I came here I had to change my style of play, but it ended up being a good thing because I learned a lot,” says Bordin.

“My freshman year I was very shy as a player, but since my first year, I have come out of my shell a lot and improved in most aspects of the game,” said Perry.

The growth of the players, the increased team cohesion and confidence, and the influx of increasingly talented players have put FIU in a strong position this year.

“Just come out and see what we are all about,” said Perry.  “A lot of people don’t know how good we are but they just need to come out for one game they’ll find out.”

— Julian Kasdin