MIAMI (October 22, 2016) – The FIU men's soccer team won its second-straight match, and extended its unbeaten streak to three, with a crucial 1-0 gut-check win over Conference USA (C-USA) rival Florida Atlantic on Friday at the FIU Soccer Stadium. The win improves the Panthers to 5-6-2 on the year and 3-2-1 in C-USA play. FAU drops to 4-7-1 on the year and 2-3 in league play.
Most importantly, the win catapults the Panthers from a tie for fourth (seven points) with UAB at the beginning of the night to a tie for first with South Carolina with 10 points.
On a night that FIU honored the 20
th anniversary of the school's NCAA Division I National Finalist team at halftime, it was only fitting as the Panthers delivered a resilient performance that was reminiscent of that team 20 years ago.
Luca Giovine scored his second goal of the season – and second in as many matches – and recorded his first career game winner when he fired a shot from 16 yards out sending the ball off the far post and into the back of the net in the 24
th minute. That was of all the offense that the Panthers would need on the night.
But it was redshirt freshman goalkeeper
Daniel Gagliardi that stole the show playing in his first career match for FIU with senior
Arthur Clapot sidelined with an injury. Gagliardi logged his first clean sheet, recording six saves including two spectacular game-changing stops.
In the 36
th minute, FAU's Oliver Powers went the length of the field and into the box, finding David Adejunmobi who sent off a point-blank shot only to have Gagliardi make an off-balance save, barely getting his hand on the ball and deflecting it over the crossbar.
In the 82
nd minute, the Panthers' net minder preserved the shutout with a diving save, then coming out of net 10 yards to cover up the rebound.
FIU out-shot the Owls 17-12 on the night, however FAU held a slight 6-5 advantage in shots on goal.
The Panthers close out this short two-match homestand, and the non-conference portion of the schedule, on Oct. 25, when they welcome UCF to the FIU Soccer Stadium. First touch is 7 p.m. The Panthers will then head on the road for their final regular-season road match of the year at Old Dominion on Oct. 29 (7 p.m.) before closing out the regular season at home on Nov. 5 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/.
