Box Score MIAMI (Sept. 20, 2013) – Despite out-shooting the Osprey, 23-9, the FIU men's soccer team fell to North Florida (4-0-1), 1-0, on Friday evening in the team's 2013 home opener at the FIU Soccer Stadium.
Trailing late in the game, FIU peppered the North Florida defense with four shots in the final minute. However, none the shots were on frame, resulting in the 1-0 loss.
"The game is crazy," said Head Coach Ken Arena. "I am confident in this team. Obviously with the display tonight, we are a very good team. I think we can beat anyone. This is the hardest sport in the world to score in. There is a reason why they say 'the game is cruel'. We are going to forget about this game. For us the conference means everything. We lost this game, but we were clearly the better team."
The game began with both teams feeling each other out as the first shot of the match was taken by FIU in the sixth minute. The Panthers had a 3-1 edge in shots until 19th minute when North Florida got on the board.
An early goal in the 19th minute proved to be the only score of the match as UNF's Pedro Carneiro netted a rebound off of a save by FIU goalkeeper Lawrence Cragg. Seaon Young, who took the initial shot in which Cragg saved, was credited with an assist on the play.
After the Osprey goal, FIU limited UNF's chances, holding them to just one shot for the remainder of the half.
The Panthers held a 10-4 advantage in shot in the first half and out-shot the Osprey 13-5 in the final 45 minutes.
FIU had a number of chances to score the equalizer. Junior Quinten Albrecht led the way registering five shots (two on net).Ten total Panthers got involved on the offensive side of the ball, including junior
Colby Burdette and junior
Roberto Alterio, who each posted four shots on the night.
Defensively, FIU held UNF to just nine shots on the night as the Osprey offense could muster just three on net.
Cragg (2-3-0), who tallied two saves in the match, was saddled with the loss while UNF's Brad Sienkiewicz (4-0-1) earned the victory, registering seven saves on the night.
The Panthers return to action on Sunday, Sept. 22, when they host the Jacksonville Dolphins. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m. at the FIU Soccer Stadium.
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUMensSoccer) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUMensSoccer) for all the latest Men's Soccer news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), (@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/.
