ELON, N.C. (Sept. 10, 2014) – The FIU men's soccer team (1-2-1) earned its first draw of the 2014 season, as it tied Elon, 0-0, on Wednesday night. FIU outshot Elon, 11-10, in the contest.

The Panthers, who were outshot 5-1 in the first half, matched Elon's five shots in the second frame. Then in the overtime periods, FIU applied heavy pressure, getting five shots off while allowing none to the Phoenix, which included a header off the post for the Panthers just minutes into the extra frame. Redshirt freshman David Mitchell made the start in goal for FIU and had a great outing. The Jamaica native made four saves.    

The Phoenix had the first legitimate opportunity of the match on a thru-ball into the box. Elon's Jason Waterman had a good look, but did not get enough behind the shot, allowing Mitchell to make the save. Elon's Austin Dunker followed minutes later with an opportunity, but his shot sailed high and wide, allowing for the game to remain scoreless through 21 minutes.

FIU's first opportunity came when senior Roberto Alterio entered the game and began applying pressure up front for the Panthers. In the 38^th minute, Alterio broke through up the middle and entered the box, where he played a ball to junior Daniel Gonzalez. A near-collision took place as Elon's keeper made a great play on the ball, preventing Gonzalez from getting a foot on it. That led to a corner, where Alterio got a head on the ball and played it too high. Minutes later, the Venezuela native had a shot on goal that was saved with five minutes to go in the first half.

Elon's Caue Da Silva gave the Panthers some trouble early in the second half of action. Just minutes in, Da Silva got on a breakaway and took a long shot that was easy for Mitchell to stop. Then in the 50^th minute, he found a seam and split two defenders in the box, giving him a good look. Mitchell came off his line though and caused Da Silva to miss the net just wide.

The final five-plus minutes of regulation really picked up. First, Mitchell made a great save in the 85^th minute, where Elons's James Brace was all alone right in front of the net. Mitchell dove and made the stop. Sophomore Josue Espana knocked one wide of the net in the 86^th minute to put some pressure on the Phoenix. Moments later in the closing minutes of the half, senior Sean McFarlane fired a shot heading top shelf, but the Elon keeper made a great save, forcing extra time.

Not even one minute into the overtime period, FIU was rewarded a corner kick. Gonzalez took the kick and found sophomore Marvin Hezel's head. The tall German defender struck the post with his header, inches away from winning the game for the Panthers.

The Panthers next travel to East Tennessee State on Sept. 16.

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 Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).

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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 FIU Arena and Ocean Bank 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/.