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FIU Grabs Sun Belt Lead with Win Over ASU
FIU vs ASU Box Score
Parents Weekend Photo Album
 MIAMI
- After missing nine games due to injury, freshman
Madeleine Hjorth-Stalgren made her presence known in her return on
Sunday afternoon. The forward came in off the bench to record her first
career goal and assist, leading the Golden Panthers to a 3-2 victory against
Arkansas State that moved them into first place in the Sun Belt Conference
team standings.
With the win, FIU
(10-5-3, 8-1-1) recorded its sixth victory in a row to break the school
record for longest winning streak, which was previously held by the 1992,
1993 and 2001 teams.
"We talked about picking
up our level from Friday night and I felt like they did right from the start
of it," coach
Thomas Chestnutt said. "It's crunch time - teams are fighting for
position. Teams are desperate to get wins so it's never easy. I felt like we
really came out and did a good job of controlling the game. We're very happy
with the result."
ASU (6-9-1, 3-5)
committed a handball penalty inside the box, which gave FIU a penalty shot
with roughly 21 minutes remaining in the first half. For the second
consecutive game, forward
Thaisa Moreno coolly finished the kick, scoring her seventh goal of the
season.
With just over four
minutes remaining in the first half,
Amy Jackson moved the ball up the center of the field. She passed it to
Hjorth-Stalgren in the left corner, and the freshman inserted it to
Katrina Rose near the right post. The assist was the career first for
Hjorth-Stalgren as Rose upped the score, 2-0.
"I play defense so I get
really excited when they switch me to forward," Rose said. "My mentality was
'get the ball up, get it around.' Once I saw the ball go out to Madeleine, I
knew she was going to cross it and I got really excited and finished it."
After the break,
Hjorth-Stalgren scored just 1:03 into the second half after receiving the
ball from
Jessica Gambill inside the box. Her first game-winning goal of the
season extended FIU's unbeaten streak to nine games.
"This is the first time
I've practiced all week, so I felt a little rusty and it was hard but I did
my best," Hjorth-Stalgren said.
Rose nearly scored again
with 25 minutes left, dribbling around a defender inside the box. She took a
few more steps toward the middle before firing, but ASU goalie Susan Brown
deflected it over the cross bar.
The Red Wolves got on
the scoreboard with an own goal with just over six minutes remaining in the
game. Then, Tracy Powell assisted Tory Pitts a minute later from 10 yards
outside of the box as Pitts connected with the upper left corner of the net.
"We picked it up a lot
this game and we were able to get finishes early. Even though it's
unfortunate they came back and scored, it feels good to break all these
records and finally get FIU on the map," Rose said. "So many girls are
stepping up so I'm very proud of our team."
The Golden Panthers
close out the regular season on Friday against SBC foe Florida Atlantic at 7
p.m. on Senior Day. A win against the Owls would guarantee the No. 1 seed
for FIU when it opens the league championships, Nov. 4-7, in Boca Raton.
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