MIAMI (Aug. 23 ,2013) -- The FIU women's soccer team  (0-1-0)  fell to the Arizona Wildcats (1-0-0) on Friday night at the FIU Soccer Stadium in the team's inaugural game as a member Conference USA. Freshman goalkeeper Vanessa Plasencia made 13 saves in her first-collegiate start in net. 

"We let simple things get in our way. We gave up two goals and were out played physically," said Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt. 

On his rookie goalkeeper Chestnutt said, "She did a good job. It was her first time out there. She did great. There were some positives for us to take away from this game, and we learned some things about ourselves tonight."

The Panthers fell behind early off a goal by Arizona's Kaitlyn Lopez in the sixth minute. The goal was the only score of the half, as the Panthers entered halftime, down, 1-0. In the first 45 minutes of play, the Wildcats out-shot FIU, 8-6.  

Arizona added to more goals to take a 3-0 advantage early in the second half. Alexandra Doller netted a pair of goals (54^th and 59^th minute) in a span of five minutes to extend the Wildcats’ lead.  

FIU rallied back when senior Crystal McNamara flicked a header past Arizona's Gabby Kaufman to make the score 3-1. The goal came off a free-kick by sophomore Madlen Weinhardt, who sent a long cross into the area where McNamara was stationed. The Jensen Beach, Fla., native found the back of the net for the Panthers’ first goal of the season.

Down 4-1, Weinhardt cut into the Wildcat lead, corralling an errant clear by the Arizona defense and blasting a shot past Kaufman in the 82^nd minute, twenty seconds after Arizona's Jazmin Ponce put one in the back of the net. 

"It was great to be able to help my team tonight," said McNamara. "My goal gave us energy late in the game. Unfortunately, it was not enough to overcome the early deficit."

Unable to overcome a 4-2 hole, FIU suffered its first loss of the season.

FIU’s will next travel to DeLand, Fla., to take on the Stetson Hatters on Friday, Aug. 30. Game time set for 7:00 p.m.

Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUWomensSoccer) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUWSoccer) for all the latest FIU women’s soccer news. Follow all of FIU’s 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).

About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelor¹s, master¹s and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida¹s anchor institutions, FIU is Worlds Ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded 200,000 degrees and enrolls 50,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu