Box Score
Miami, Fla. (FIUSports.com) - The FIU football team (1-7, 1-3 C-USA) completed its three-game homestand with a 34-13 loss to Conference USA East Division leader East Carolina on Saturday night at Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.
The Pirates (6-2, 4-1) were led by quarterback Shane Carden, who threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Justin Hardy was Carden's biggest target with five catches for 136 yards and a touchdown.
The Panthers will now head on the road for the first time in over a month to take on familiar foe Middle Tennessee next Saturday, Nov. 9, at Floyd Stadium in Murfreesboro. Kickoff with the Raiders is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be televised by FOX College Sports.
Against East Carolina,
E.J. Hilliard got his second start of the season at quarterback and went 21-of-33 for 194 yards.
FIU got on the scoreboard midway through the first quarter with 6:10 left with a school-record tying 52-yard field goal from
Austin Taylor to trim the Pirates lead to 7-3.
Adam Moss previously kicked a 52-yarder against McNeese State during the 2004 season.
In the second quarter, at the 1:59 mark, Silas Spearman capped a school-record long 9:20 drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to come within 21-10 going into halftime. The 17-play drive was the longest since an 18-play scoring drive in the 2012 season finale against ULM.
Taylor opened the scoring in the third quarter with a 31-yard field goal to bring FIU within 21-13. His seven points kicking in the game were a career-best surpassing his six-point games against Southern Miss and UAB earlier this season.
East Carolina connected on a half back 35-yard touchdown pass from Justin Hardy to Isaiah Jones to increase the Pirate lead to 28-13. The Pirates then added a late score to earn the 34-13 victory.
Defensively, the Panthers held their ground against a very high-powered ECU offense. The Pirates, who entered the contest 26th nationally in scoring offense and 43rd in total offense, were held below their total yards and points average. On offense, FIU had the ball for 40:37, a school-record.
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Single game tickets are currently on-sale. Fans can purchase great seats along the sideline ($21) or in the endzone ($15). Group pricing (20 or more) is also available. Tickets can be purchased by calling the FIU Athletics Ticket Office at (305) FIU-GAME (348-4263) or conveniently online at FIUSports.com.
For the latest information on Panthers football, follow us on Twitter, @FIUFootball, and check out
Pete Pelegrin's in-depth coverage of FIU Athletics on his official blog, The Prowl, at FIUSports.com.
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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/.
