MIAMI (October 10, 2016) – The FIU men's soccer team snapped its four-match losing streak, however the result may not totally have been what the Panthers were looking for. FIU battled South Carolina to a double-overtime 0-0 draw at the FIU Soccer Stadium on Monday night. The match, originally scheduled to take place on Saturday but was moved until tonight due to Hurricane Matthew, is the final contest of a short two-match homestand for the Panthers.
FIU is now 3-6-2 on the year, and 1-2-1 in C-USA play, while the Gamecocks are 7-3-1 and 2-0-1 in league play. South Carolina also had its winning streak stopped at six matches with the tie.
Neither side would get much going for the first 35 minutes of the match until the Gamecocks' Bjorn Gudjonsson got the first shot of the match off in the 35
th minute that went just wide from 20 yards out.
FIU came back two minutes later with a shot from
Donald Tomlinson, from 22 yards put that went wide right, on the Panthers' first shot of the night.
The most dangerous chance of the first half came in the 39
th minute when South Carolina's Ben Davidson fired a low skipping liner from the top of the 18 that was saved by FIU keeper
Arthur Clapot, the first save of the match.
Then
Paul Marie made a bid for his second-straight match with a goal when he put a header just wide of the right post in the 41
st minute.
The two teams went into locker room at the intermission scoreless as shots were at a premium. The Gamecocks held a slight 3-2 advantage in shots, 1-0 in shots on goal.
Each team had opportunities through the second half, but as you would expect on a 0-0 draw, it was the goalkeepers that took center stage down the stretch.
In the 104
th minute of overtime South Carolina's Luca Mayr fired a bending knuckleball towards the low near corner seemingly beating Clapot, however the senior net minder recovered and made a spectacular diving punch save to his right to keep the game scoreless. The Gamecocks, however just seconds later, had their best chance of the night when Ben Davidson missed a wide open net on a header, sending his offering just wide right from six yards out.
The Panthers had a golden opportunity to put the game away in the 107
th minute when South Carolina was called for a foul in the box leading to a penalty kick by Marie. Marie fired a shot towards the left corner, however the PK was denied by Pyle, with his own diving save, ultimately preserving the tie.
In addition to the score being deadlocked, each team had 11 shots on the night, despite the Gamecocks holding a 5-3 advantage in shots on goal.
Clapot finished the outing with five saves as he recorded his third shutout of the season and the seventh of his career.
FIU will take to the road again to butt heads with Marshall on Oct. 15 at 1 p.m. before returning home to close out the regular season with three-of-four on its home turf beginning with rival FAU on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m.
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).
#####
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/.
