MIAMI (September 24, 2016) –The FIU men's soccer team, in the midst of its most difficult stretch of the season, dropped its second-straight match on Saturday as No. 5 Charlotte handed the Panthers a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in overtime at Transamerica Field. FIU falls to 3-4-1 on the year and 1-1 in Conference USA. The 49ers improve to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in C-USA.

The 49ers broke a scoreless tie in the 78^th minute when Harrison Steadman stole a pass from FIU goalkeeper Arthur Clapot and chipped it past the net minder for his fourth goal of the season.

It looked like Charlotte would escape in regulation however Luis Betancur, last season's leading scorer, headed home a pass from Jamar Campion-Hinds with two seconds left to play to tie the contest. It was Betancur's first goal of the season.

The Panthers' excitement would be short-lived when Brandt Bronico beat Clapot for his first goal of the season and the 49ers fifth victory of the year.

Saturday's match against Charlotte was the third of four-straight that the Panthers are playing against teams currently ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25 poll, a stretch that began on Sept. 17 with a Panthers' 2-1 win over then-No. 21 Kentucky. On Tuesday night, FIU dropped a tough 2-0 decision at No. 14 Wake Forest.

The Panthers will now head to the Southwest to face No. 21 New Mexico on Friday, Sept. 30 at 9 p.m. (ET) before returning home on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. to face cross-state rival Florida Gulf Coast University at the FIU Soccer Stadium.

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/.