MIAMI (November 13, 2016) – The FIU men's soccer team's impressive run to the Conference USA Tournament championship match came to an end on Sunday as the No. 3-seeded Panthers dropped a 3-0 decision to the No. 5-seed New Mexico Lobos at Marshall University's Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex in Huntington, West Virginia.
Although they may be on the outside looking in, FIU (10-7-2), who was looking for its second-straight C-USA Tournament title, will now have to sit and wait to see if it receives an NCAA Tournament at-large bid which will be announced during the championship selection show on Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. on NCAA.com.
The loss snaps the Panthers' eight-match unbeaten streak that dated back to Oct. 10 when it played South Carolina to a scoreless draw at the FIU Soccer Stadium. Since then, the Panthers had won seven-straight which was the third-longest active streak in the nation.
Despite the setback, the Panthers placed three players on the 2016 Conference USA All-Tournament Team.
Paul Marie,
Ismael Longo and
Joris Ahlinvi were all honored for their play in the three-match event.
The first half proved to be a defensive struggle with both teams combining for just seven shots. FIU held a slight advantage, 4-3. The Lobos had the best chance of the first stanza when a New Mexico player fired a shot that seemed to make it just over
Daniel Gagliardi's reach, however the Panthers' net minder just got a fingertip on it and send it off the cross bar in the 39th minute.
Gagliardi was tested early in the second half when Sam Gleadle fired a low skipper from the left side of the box from about 15 yards out. Gagliardi made a diving save – on what was the Lobos' first shot on goal – and covered up the rebound in the 46th minute.
New Mexico broke through in the 67
th minute when Niko Hansen took an assist from Chris Wehan and beat Gagliardi to give the Lobos a 1-0 lead.
Just 11 minutes later,
Andrew Booth looked to get the Panthers on the board sending a low skipping liner on goal from 22 yards out that was stopped by New Mexico keeper Jason Beaulieu. That would be the last chance that FIU would be able to muster on the afternoon.
Wehan would then put the match out of reach in the 83
rd after minute, taking a pass just beyond midfield and beating Gagliardi who came up towards the center circle looking to give the Panthers a n extra man in the offensive third. Once Wehan got by Gagliardi there was nobody to stop him from making the score 2-0.
Hanson capped a rough 19 minute stretch netting his second goal in the 86
th minute pf play.
New Mexico ended the game with a slight 11-9 shots advantage.
2016 Conference USA All-Tournament Team:
Brandt Bronico – Charlotte
Tommy Madden – Charlotte
Cole Stringer - Old Dominion
Christian Wirth - Old Dominion
Paul Marie – FIU
Ismael Longo – FIU
Joris Ahlinvi – FIU
Nick Rochowski - New Mexico
Niko Hansen - New Mexico
Offensive MVP: Chris Wehan - New Mexico
Defensive MVP: Chris Gurule - New Mexico
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/.
