MOBILE, Ala. – Third-seeded FIU won its third consecutive Sun Belt Conference Women’s Soccer tournament opening game, defeating the sixth-seeded Troy Trojans, 2-0 on Wednesday at The Cage on the campus of South Alabama in Mobile, Ala.

Panther junior Chelsea Leiva put FIU on the board first with a low cross shot that hit the back of the net for the Royal Palm Beach, Fla. native’s 11th goal of the season. Leiva was assisted by Nikki Rios and Scarlett Montoya on the goal which was scored in the games 15th-minute.

Troy, however, kept attacking the FIU defense picking up nine shots on the evening with six attempts on goal. FIU’s star keeper, Kaitlyn Savage, recorded her seventh shutout of the season as the Panthers improved to 12-5-2 on the season.

FIU’s Kim Lopez gave the Panthers the clincher on a breakaway from the midline. Troy was attempting a free-kick which was deflected by FIU towards the left end. Lopez received the ball from Montoya and broke down the left end beating the Trojan keeper to give FIU the commanding 2-0 lead.

FIU will now face the winner of Wednesday’s final match between No. 2 Middle Tennessee and tournament host No. 7 South Alabama. The Panthers have now won six-consecutive matches and are undefeated in their last eight.