Charlotte, N.C. (Nov. 11. 2015) -- The FIU Men's Soccer team (10-6-1) defeated Old Dominion (8-5-3) in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Championship.
The Panthers took an early lead with a goal by sophomore
Paul Marie in the 12th minute. Senior
Daniel Gonzalez sent the cross just outside the area to set up Marie for his third goal of the season. The Panthers, holding possession most of the first half, found the scoreboard again in the 27th minute. Junior
Luis Betancur struck from 25-yards out to place the ball in the lower, left shelf. Betancur registered his eighth goal of the season.
The Monarchs found the scoreboard in the 33rd minute with a goal by Joshua Enriquez. ODU's Ivan Militar sent a cross for Enriquez to send it in from 10-yards out.
The Panthers found themselves knotted up, 2-2, with ODU early in the second half. The Monarch's Ryan Condatta found the equalizer off a penalty kick.
FIU battled for possession most of the second half, but truly found their footing in the 79th minute with a goal by Gonzalez, assisted by senior
Patrick Lopez. With eight minutes left, Marie crossed to junior
Jamar Campion-Hinds for a low placed goal to finalize the score, 4-2.
"Old Dominion is obviously a very respectable team, but we were way too hungry for the win," says Gonzalez who received 3 points for the match, with a goal and an assist.
FIU exceeded statistically in every category, except one. The Panthers outshot the Monarchs, 18-9. Lopez, anchoring the defense, allowed only three shots on goal for the match.
Goalkeeper
Arthur Clapot currently holds a 6-3-1 record.
The Panthers will return to action this Friday as they take on University of Kentucky in the Conference USA semifinals. First touch will be at 4:30 p.m.
Fans can following the action via the C_USA Digital Network (click here).
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/.
