MIAMI (September 30, 2016) – Freshman
Joris Ahlinvi recorded his first career goal, but it was too little, too late as the FIU men's soccer team closed out its most daunting stretch of the season, on Friday night, with a tough 4-1 Conference USA (C-USA) loss at New Mexico. The Panthers drop to 3-5-1 on the year and are 1-2 in C-USA play. The Lobos improve to 6-3 on the year and are 1-1 in conference play.
Ahlinvi scored in the 85
th minute on a long shot from the top of the box into the lower left corner of the goal. That was all of the scoring that the Panthers were able to muster on the night.
The Lobos jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first half on two goals by Chris Wehan in the 16
th and 42
nd minute, respectively.
New Mexico would then add two more in the second half by Niko Hansen and Luke Lawrence in the 55
th and 74
th minutes.
On the night, New Mexico held the advantage in shots, 16-13, however doubled up the Panthers in shots on goal, 10-5.
FIU goalkeeper
Arthur Clapot finished the match with six saves on the night.
The match against the Lobos was the third-straight on the road for the Panthers and ended a difficult four-match stretch against teams that are or were ranked, or receiving votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25 poll at the time of the meeting. The Lobos received 20 votes in this week's NSCAA poll.
New Mexico entered the contest with the Panthers on the heels of a tough 1-0 loss at Kentucky on Sept. 25. FIU defeated the Wildcats, who were ranked No. 21 in the nation at the time, 2-1 on Sept. 17. That loss for the Lobos ended a five-match winning streak. During that five-match stretch New Mexico gave up just one goal, one of only four surrendered on the year. The Lobos began the season with back-to-back 1-0 losses to No. 15 Indiana on Aug. 26 and No. 9 Notre Dame on Aug. 28.
The Panthers will return home on Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. to face cross-state rival Florida Gulf Coast University at the FIU Soccer Stadium. The match will be the first of a two-match homestand for FIU, concluding on Oct. 8 when the Panthers return to Conference USA action to battle South Carolina. Match time is 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/.
