MIAMI (Oct. 31, 2015) – Saturday night's final home match for the FIU men's soccer team (9-5-1, 3-3-1 C-USA) was a lopsided affair in every statistical category except for one as the Panthers battled New Mexico (7-5-4, 1-4-2 C-USA) to a 0-0 draw at the FIU Soccer Stadium.
In a physical contest, where 30 fouls were called and five yellow cards were distributed, FIU out-shot the Lobos 21-5, including 8-1 on net.
FIU kept UNM goalkeeper Jason Baeulieu busy, forcing the netminder to make eight saves on the night. Eight different Panthers took part in the offense with two-or-more shots and at least one shot on goal. Leading the charge for the Panthers was sophomore
Brad Fountain, who tallied four shots on the evening with one on frame.
FIU's defense kept the Lobos offense in check, allowing just five shots on the night as junior goalkeeper
Arthur Clapot needed to make just one save to register his second clean sheet of the season.
The first half saw both teams feeling each other out as a total of three shots were taken in the first 15 minutes – all by FIU. The Panthers pressured the Lobos defense, rattling off four shots in a four minute span midway through the first half. Fountain forced Baeulieu to make a save in the 24
th minute resulting in one of FIU's 10 corner kicks on the night. Junior
Patrick Lopez kept Baeulieu busy, forcing him to make another save on the corner by junior
Ismael Longo. FIU kept New Mexico on its heels for the remainder of the half, but was unable to find the back of the net as the score remained knotted at 0-0 heading into halftime.
Defensively, FIU allowed just two shots by UNM in the first 45, with both scoring attempts taking place in the 19
th and 21
st minutes.
FIU came out of the break continuing to put pressure on New Mexico as the Panthers took a pair of shots with in the first four minutes of action. Junior
Luis Betancur and Fountain each recorded a shot in the 49
th minute with both coming off corners by Longo.
The Panthers created a number of scoring chances in the waning moments of the second half, including FIU's final chance in regulation with a shot on net by freshman
Santiago Patino in the 86
th minute.
With the match unable to be decided in regulation, both teams went to overtime looking to come away with the result – FIU's second overtime match of the season.
Overtime saw a tilted field as nearly all of the action took place in the New Mexico third. With much of the same as in regulation, FIU took six total shots forcing Baeulieu to make three saves. The Lobos were unable to register any shots during the added periods.
In the 99
th minute of the first overtime, FIU got off a pair of strikes looking to earn the victory. A shot by senior
Daniel Gonzalez was blocked and junior
Deshawon Nembhard's attempt off of the rebound of Gonzalez' shot was saved.
FIU tried one last time to get on the scoreboard in the final 10 minutes (OT No. 2), getting off two shots as the first by junior
Jamar Campion-Hinds was saved by Baeulieu in the 104
th minute and the second by Lopez sailed wide in the 107
th minute.
With the draw, FIU finished the season with a 5-1-1 record at home.
Following the match, FIU honored four of its seniors,
A.J. Sibiski, Daniel Gonzalez, Robin Spiegel and
Patrick Lopez, playing in the final home game of their FIU careers.
Having already clinched a spot in the 2015 C-USA Men's Soccer Championships, the Panthers will close out the regular season versus No. 16 Kentucky next Saturday, Nov. 7. The match from Lexington, Ky., is set to begin at 7 p.m. ET.
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. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.
