MIAMI (Sept. 8, 2013) – The FIU women’s soccer team (2-3-0) earned its first home victory of the season on Sunday afternoon with a 2-0 win over Cleveland State (3-4-0) at FIU Soccer Stadium. Several weather delays pushed the 1 p.m. start time back to 2:00 p.m. and saw the game end in the 73rd minute due to lightning in the area. 

Redshirt junior Paula Zuluaga earned her first-career shutout in just her second-career start in net. The defender transitioned into the role of goalkeeper at the beginning of the season and has worked diligently at the skill ever since.

“It felt great to get the shutout,” said Zuluaga. “The defense played great in front of me. It was a strong team effort all around.”

In the 13th minute, junior Ashleigh Shim netted her second goal of the season. Junior Kim Lopez sent a pass high across the box, connecting with Shim for the header past CSU goalkeeper Sarah Wood.

The Panthers played a dominant first half and stayed on the offensive side of the field throughout, getting off nine shots in the opening period. Not until the 41st minute was Zuluaga tested, blocking a shot from CSU’s Vickie Havas. 

Going into the half, FIU held a 1-0 lead. The Panthers started the second half pushing the ball deep into the CSU zone. Shim notched her second goal of the game eight minutes into the second half, as freshman Alyssa Robinsonvolleyed a ball towards Shim, who buried it deep into the left side of the net, past the reach of Wood.

“We played with a lot of intensity,” said Head Coach Thomas Chestnutt. “It was great to see the difference in the team from Friday to today. It’s great to get our first home win of the season, especially before we go on the road for three games.”

Shim had a chance at a hat trick midway through the second half when she connected off a pass and carried the ball deep into the CSU box. After a cutback, she chipped the ball towards the net, but the Vikings’ goalkeeper dove for the save. 

“It would have been awesome to get that third one,” said Shim. “I’m just happy we controlled the ball so well and played the way we did.” 

The Panthers finished the shortened game with 15 shots, compared to CSU’s seven shots.

FIU is on the road for the next two weeks and will return home Friday, Sept. 27 to kick off Conference USA action versus Charlotte. The team’s next game is Friday, Sept. 13 at Dayton. 

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