MIAMI (October 24, 2016) – The FIU men's soccer team returns to the pitch to close out its 2016 non-conference schedule when it hosts in-state foe UCF on Oct. 25 at the FIU Soccer Stadium. First touch is slated for 7 p.m. Having won two-straight, the Panthers look to extend their unbeaten streak to four matches on Tuesday.
FIU (5-6-2) comes into Tuesday's match off a thrilling 1-0 win over Conference USA rival Florida Atlantic on Oct. 21.
Luca Giovine scored his second goal of the season – 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. 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. The FIU keeper barely got his hand on the ball and deflected it over the crossbar.
In the 82
nd minute, the Panthers' net minder preserved the shutout with a diving save. He came 10 yards out of net to cover up the rebound.
On the year,
Santiago Patino leads the team in points scored with 14 (7g) and has recorded three multi-goal matches and four multi-point contests. Only six other Panthers have netted goals this season – Giovine (2),
Luis Betancur (2),
Brad Fountain (1),
Jamar Campion-Hinds (1),
Paul Marie (1) and
Joris Ahlinvi (1).
UCF (4-8) is coming off a 2-1 win over UConn in Orlando on Oct. 22. The Knights have won three of their last six matches, however only one of their last four.
The Panthers and UCF share several common opponents this season, with the Knights losing to South Carolina (2-1), Florida Gulf Coast (3-1) and North Florida (2-1), while FIU dropped decisions to North Florida (4-3) and FGCU (4-1), and tied South Carolina (0-0) in double overtime.
Matias Pyysalo leads the Knights in scoring with 23 points (9g, 5a) on the season. Richard Amon is second with seven points (3g, 1a) and Cal Jennings (1g, 2a), Nelco Regent (1g, 2a) and Jonathan Dean (4a) all have four points this season.
Following Tuesday's match, the Panthers travel to Norfolk, Virginia, 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).
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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/.
