Women’s soccer claims third Sun Belt Conference title

FIU women’s soccer team defeated Western Kentucky University to capture the program’s third Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Championship on Saturday, Nov. 5, in Murfreesboro, Tenn. Freshman Johanna Volz notched the game-winning conversion to send the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1993.

“This feels great. All the girls have been such good teammates. They’ve battled and worked hard to put us in this position,” head coach Thomas Chestnutt said. “Even the players that didn’t travel and all our injured players contributed to make this possible. I’m incredibly thrilled for them.”

After neither team was able to find the back of the net through the first 110 minutes of play, the match was sent to penalty kicks to decide the SBC Tournament final. FIU prevailed, 4-3.

“It’s a guessing game,” redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage said. “You have to go with your gut and go all out with it. With those two [missed shots], I did the best guess I could and I was able to make the saves.”

Savage turned away WKU’s first shot and FIU senior April Perry buried hers to give the Panthers the early advantage. FIU held the lead and had an early chance to put away the match when WKU missed its fourth shot as Savage was able to make another stop. However, FIU failed to convert the ensuing chance.

Once WKU converted its fifth attempt, FIU turned to Volz and she found the top-left corner to complete the Panthers’ incredible tournament run.

“It feels great to come in and close off the game today as the last kicker,” Volz said. “I knew what I had to do and although my nerves were high, I knew I could do it.”

This 2011 squad matches the 2000 tournament champions and 2009 regular season team as the only teams in program history to win the conference.

“When it came down to it, we deserved to win and we showed it,” Volz added. “I’m on such a high right now as a freshman to be able to come through for my team. I didn’t want the season to end today and I’m so excited to keep on playing.”

Snapping an 18-year NCAA Tournament drought, the Panthers will travel to Orlando, Fla., to take on the UCF in the first round of the tournament on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m.

“It feels so surreal,” Savage said. “We’ve thought about it for as long as I’ve been here, and today’s the day it happened. I’m really excited to move on.”

— FIUSports.com