Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Friday, November 8
Miami, Fla.
6:00 PM
Middle Tennessee
at
No. 1 FIU
Blue Raiders’ Run Continues, Face Top-Seed FIU in Semifinals
11/7/2024 3:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee women's soccer team (9-9, 5-4 CUSA) looks to continue its run in the CUSA Tournament, as the Blue Raiders take on the host FIU Panthers (11-4-2, 6-1-2 CUSA) on Friday in a semifinal matchup in Miami.
History vs. FIU
In program history, Middle Tennessee is 17-7-1 against FIU dating back to the 2001 season, a year prior to the arrival of head coach Aston Rhoden in Murfreesboro. The two sides met back Sept. 19 of this season at Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium, resulting in a 4-2 win for the Panthers on the back of a hat-trick from CUSA Player of the Year Noemi Paquin.
About Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee enters the weekend portion of the conference tournament coming off a narrow 0-0 (4-2 PKs) win in a penalty shootout over No. 4 seed Sam Houston in the quarterfinals. The game featured perhaps the most physical and gutsy performance of the season from the Blue Raiders with the backline of Sadie Sterbenz, Emma Brown, Sascha Nielsen and Lauren Spaanstra, along with Demi Gronauer in net, keeping a clean sheet through 110 minutes of play and holding Sam Houston to just four shots on target.
The win on Wednesday night sent the Blue Raiders into the CUSA semifinals, where they will face host, and top seed, FIU Panthers on Friday night at 6 P.M. CT.
The Blue Raiders were unable to find the back of the net in the 90 minutes of regulation against the Bearkats on Wednesday night, and again in the 20 minutes of extra time, but ultimately prevailed by way of the penalty shootout. Middle Tennessee went four for five from the penalty spot with Yana Yordanova, Spaanstra, Nielsen and Manon Lebargy each converting a crucial kick from six yards out.
Over the course of 110 minutes of game time, the Blue Raider defense held firm, not allowing Sam Houston's offense to find any sort of rhythm in their final third. Brown, Nielsen and Sterbenz, midfielder Megan Carroll and winger Lexi Dendis each logged over 100 minutes on the night, with Brown and Nielsen logging the full 110 minutes on the field.
Gronauer came up big for Middle Tennessee between the posts time and time again in tonight's win, making four saves and coming off her line to force many other Berkat shots wide of the Blue Raider goal.
About FIU
The Panthers entered the conference tournament not only as the host, but as the No. 1 seed after finishing 6-1-2 in league play. FIU will be fresh off a first-round bye heading into Friday night's match, which will follow semifinal No. 1 between Liberty and New Mexico State at 4 P.M. local time.
Paquin, who was named CUSA Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, leads the charge on the offensive end for the Panthers, leading the conference with 14 goals and three assists in 17 starts. The senior forward from Montreal, Canada recorded her first career hat-trick against the Blue Raiders in their meeting in Murfreesboro on Sept. 19, leading FIU to a 4-2 win.
Match Details
MTSU vs. FIU will feature as the second semifinal on Friday in Miami, with kickoff slated for 6 P.M. CT.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Women's Soccer on social media on Facebook, (BlueRaiderSoccer) X (MT_Soccer) and Instagram (mt_wsoccer).
History vs. FIU
In program history, Middle Tennessee is 17-7-1 against FIU dating back to the 2001 season, a year prior to the arrival of head coach Aston Rhoden in Murfreesboro. The two sides met back Sept. 19 of this season at Dean A. Hayes Track and Soccer Stadium, resulting in a 4-2 win for the Panthers on the back of a hat-trick from CUSA Player of the Year Noemi Paquin.
About Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee enters the weekend portion of the conference tournament coming off a narrow 0-0 (4-2 PKs) win in a penalty shootout over No. 4 seed Sam Houston in the quarterfinals. The game featured perhaps the most physical and gutsy performance of the season from the Blue Raiders with the backline of Sadie Sterbenz, Emma Brown, Sascha Nielsen and Lauren Spaanstra, along with Demi Gronauer in net, keeping a clean sheet through 110 minutes of play and holding Sam Houston to just four shots on target.
The win on Wednesday night sent the Blue Raiders into the CUSA semifinals, where they will face host, and top seed, FIU Panthers on Friday night at 6 P.M. CT.
The Blue Raiders were unable to find the back of the net in the 90 minutes of regulation against the Bearkats on Wednesday night, and again in the 20 minutes of extra time, but ultimately prevailed by way of the penalty shootout. Middle Tennessee went four for five from the penalty spot with Yana Yordanova, Spaanstra, Nielsen and Manon Lebargy each converting a crucial kick from six yards out.
Over the course of 110 minutes of game time, the Blue Raider defense held firm, not allowing Sam Houston's offense to find any sort of rhythm in their final third. Brown, Nielsen and Sterbenz, midfielder Megan Carroll and winger Lexi Dendis each logged over 100 minutes on the night, with Brown and Nielsen logging the full 110 minutes on the field.
Gronauer came up big for Middle Tennessee between the posts time and time again in tonight's win, making four saves and coming off her line to force many other Berkat shots wide of the Blue Raider goal.
About FIU
The Panthers entered the conference tournament not only as the host, but as the No. 1 seed after finishing 6-1-2 in league play. FIU will be fresh off a first-round bye heading into Friday night's match, which will follow semifinal No. 1 between Liberty and New Mexico State at 4 P.M. local time.
Paquin, who was named CUSA Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, leads the charge on the offensive end for the Panthers, leading the conference with 14 goals and three assists in 17 starts. The senior forward from Montreal, Canada recorded her first career hat-trick against the Blue Raiders in their meeting in Murfreesboro on Sept. 19, leading FIU to a 4-2 win.
Match Details
MTSU vs. FIU will feature as the second semifinal on Friday in Miami, with kickoff slated for 6 P.M. CT.
Follow the Blue Raiders
Follow Middle Tennessee Women's Soccer on social media on Facebook, (BlueRaiderSoccer) X (MT_Soccer) and Instagram (mt_wsoccer).
Players Mentioned
D
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
G
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's SoccerMTSU Football Weekly Presser Wisconsin 9/01/25
Monday, September 01
MTSU Soccer vs Alabama A&M Recap 08/21/25
Friday, August 22
MTSU Soccer - Scottie Newton - Post Match Interview August 21st, 2025
Friday, August 22
MTSU Soccer vs Jackson State Recap 08/17/25
Wednesday, August 20
