FORT MYERS, Florida (Oct. 8, 2019) - The No. 15 ranked FIU men's soccer team won a double-overtime thriller in Fort Myers on Tuesday night, as the Panthers defeated FGCU by a score of 3-2 on the road.
FIU remains undefeated and improves to 8-0-3 on the season, while the Eagles fall to 4-6-2.
"A great team win tonight against a good FGCU side," said Head Coach Kevin Nylen. "We found a way to win and were resilient in doing such. Onto Kentucky now."
The Panthers were clicking early on Tuesday night as they scored two quick goals in the first 15 minutes to go up 2-0 over the Eagles.
Xavi Olmos Ferris and Mohamed Conde connected on both scoring plays in a spell of déjà vu. The first goal came in the 6th minute after Conde crossed a perfect ball into the box for Olmos Ferris who finished for the score. In the 15th minute, Nick O'Callaghan booted a long ball from the defensive third into the attacking third for Conde, who gained possession and repeated almost the exact same play to Olmos Ferris for a second FIU goal.
FGCU fought back and scored a goal of its own in the 32nd minute as the Panthers took a 2-1 lead into the locker room.
The second half saw the Eagles out-shoot the Panthers as they fought for an equalizer. FGCU gained the tying score in the 77th minute when a counter-attack set up Jahan Rajaee for a goal, tying the match at 2-2 and sending FIU to an overtime period for the fourth time this season.
After being out-shot in the first 90 minutes by the Eagles, FIU displayed resiliency and out-shot FGCU by a 5-0 margin in overtime. At the 105th minute mark and with time dwindling, Alban Rousselet crossed a free kick into the six-yard box for David Garcia, who found the back of the net on a header. The Panthers scored on a set piece as they've done so many times this season, knocking off the Eagles by a score of 3-2 in an action-packed match.
FIU picked up its first golden-goal victory of 2019 after earning draws in three previous overtime matches. Olmos Ferris notched two goals for the first brace of his FIU career. He now has 10 points and four goals on the year. Conde earned his first two points of 2019, which also marks a career-high while wearing Blue & Gold. Rousselet logged his fourth assist of the year and is now tied for the team lead.
UP NEXT
The No. 15 ranked Panthers move on to an important conference rival, as FIU travels to Lexington to face No. 16 ranked Kentucky on Sunday, Oct. 13. Kickoff against the Wildcats is set for 6 p.m. ET.
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