Courtesy: FIUSports.com
Release: 09/13/2009

box score

MIAMI - As the FIU women's soccer team huddled after its 2-1 victory over North Florida on Sunday, co-captain Marina Pappas asked her teammates to cheer "FIU, loud and proud!"

They had a reason to be.

The Golden Panthers (2-3-2) came from behind to walk away with a 2-1 victory against the Ospreys (2-4-1), for their first win at home of the season.  Sophomore Katrina Rose scored both goals in the second half.

"To come from behind is big," Rose said. "It shows commitment to your team. We realized that we were behind and had to step it up."

Though FIU limited UNF to just one shot in the first period, the Ospreys made the shot count. Katelin Swift headed in a goal with 11 minutes to go before halftime.

The Golden Panthers changed up their system in the second half and increased the tempo of the game.

 "We were able to stream some passes together and expose some gaps. We were able to make some forward runs and actually get balls in there," senior Amy Jackson said. "I'm really glad we came away with the win. It's great to get some momentum heading into conference and I think we can only go forward from here."

Rose headed in her first goal of the season to tie the game at 1-1 less than five minutes into the second half. She struck again with the game-winning goal thanks in part to an assist from Jackson with roughly 30 minutes left to play.

"I'm glad the team could get the goal off that (her assist) and get some points on the board, which is the most important thing," Jackson said. "Katrina always seems to find herself in the right position at the right time. She's got the speed and if you put a ball in front of her, you can be confident that she'll get to it.

FIU closes its homestand next Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Golden Panthers host Arkansas.