MIAMI (September 4, 2016) – If there is a short end of a 0-0 draw in soccer the FIU men's soccer team was certainly on that side of it on Sunday afternoon as the Panthers and visiting Niagara finished deadlocked after 110 minutes of play in better than 90-degree temperatures with a heat index in the high 90's.
FIU (2-1-1) controlled the contest outshooting Niagara (1-1-1) a staggering 20-2 and held a commanding advantage in corner kicks, 14-2, however despite several opportunities to put the ball in the back of the goal, the Panthers could never find a way to convert.
Darren Rios had the first quality chance for the Panthers in the 18
th minute when he took a pass in the box and had a point-blank shot that Niagara goalkeeper Steve Casey denied with a sliding kick save.
FIU made another push 10 minutes later – in the 28
th minute – as
Jesse Wear led
Luca Giovine, who in turn found
Jamar Campion-Hinds on the right side of the 18. Campion-Hinds made a move and fired a shot that went just wide left. Then, in the 29
th minute,
Darren Rios had a clear shot from 26 yards out from straight on that also found its way just wide left of the post.
The Panthers would make another bid to get on the board just before the intermission with the tandem of
Inigo Sagarduy who would serve up
Luca Giovine on back-to-back chances. Giovine took the first offering in the 40
th minute and put the ball just over the cross bar, then in the 42
nd minute Giovine took another pass from Sagarduy, shot it; however, Casey made another athletic save to keep the match scoreless.
The two teams would go to the locker room at the break deadlocked despite the Panthers outshooting the Purple Eagles 8-1 in the first 45 minutes of play, with three shots on goal.
In the second half, off a corner kick from Sagarduy, FIU's
Marvin Hezel went high above the Purple Eagles defense attempting to convert a header, however his shot went just over the cross bar in the 53
rd minute.
Casey then saved Niagara from going a goal down in the 62
nd minute when he kick away a chance intended for
Luis Betancur that was just five yards out, and then
Brad Fountain hit the cross bar moments later.
Prior to the end of regulation, FIU had two opportunities in the final three minutes, however attempts by
Thibault Civalier and Giovine in the 87
th and 89
th minutes, respectively were both blocked.
In the extra sessions the Panthers, once again, had numerous chances to win the game but could not convert, including three of the four shots in the final nine minutes that either went high or wide of the goal.
Also included in that final nine-minute stretch was a goal by FIU that was negated off because of an offside call in the 101
st minute.
Giovine led FIU in shots on the afternoon with four, including one on net, while
Darren Rios had three shots, one coming on goal.
The Panthers will play four of their next five matches on the road beginning at North Florida in Jacksonville on Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. The lone home match for FIU during that stretch will be its Conference USA opener against Kentucky on Sept. 17 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/.
