MIAMI (November 5, 2016) – The FIU men's soccer team closed out its 2016 regular season on Saturday night with a 2-1 win over UAB at the FIU Soccer Stadium. The Panthers improve to 8-6-2 on the year and 5-2-1 in Conference USA play. With the victory, FIU finishes in a tie for second with South Carolina in the C-USA standings and will be the No. 3 seed in this week's upcoming Conference USA Tournament (Nov. 9, 11, 13) in Huntington, West Virginia, with the Gamecocks holding the tiebreaker on goal differential.
In addition, the Panthers extend their unbeaten streak to six matches, their longest such streak since winning seven-straight last season.
Luis Betancur got the Panthers on the board first, finding the back of the net from eight yards out off an assist from
Ismael Longo in the 10
th minute. It was Betancur's fourth goal of the season.
Longo looked to put FIU up by two goals with a hard liner in the 19
th minute only to have UAB goalkeeper Joe Kuzminski make a spectacular diving punch save.
The Blazers took advantage of their keeper's defense in the 22
nd minute when James Ngoe tied the game up with a shot that went off FIU net minder
Daniel Gagliardi's hand.
Despite the Panthers holding the upper hand offensively in the first 45 minutes – enjoying an 11-6 shot advantage, and a 5-4 edge in shots on goal – FIU and UAB entered the locker room at the half tied at one apiece.
Santiago Patino would net the final goal of the match in the 64
th minute when he beat Kuzminski with a shot from 10 yards out. The score would be Patino's team-high eighth of the season, but his first since Sept. 17 against Kentucky (W, 2-1), a stretch of 10 games.
Gagliardi got the start for the Panthers in goal and turned in three saves, while allowing the Blazers' lone goal of the match. He split time with
Arthur Clapot who started the first 12 matches of the season, however, has been sidelined due to injury. Clapot came into the contest to begin the second half and made one save.
FIU finished the night out shooting UAB 18-9 and 8-5 in shots on goal.
Prior to the match the Panthers honored their seven-member senior class.
FIU will now head to the Conference USA Tournament hosted by Marshall University. Be sure to check FIUSports.com for C-USA Tournament opponent, date and time updates as they become available.
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/.
