NORFOLK, Virginia (Nov. 13, 2019) – After falling to South Carolina on the road less than two weeks prior, the No. 23 ranked FIU men's soccer team bounced back and downed the Gamecocks by a score of 3-0 in the Conference USA Tournament Quarterfinals on Wednesday night.
No. 3 seeded FIU now improves to 10-2-5 and moves on to the semifinals of the C-USA Tournament to face No. 2 seeded Charlotte, while South Carolina falls to 7-9-2 and concludes the 2019 campaign.
FIU and South Carolina both held strong defensively in the early going as the match remained scoreless to start. The Panthers were able to create penetration into the attacking third but could not find a successful scoring shot through the first 45 minutes. Alessandro Campoy, Andrew Booth, and Stephen Afrifa all had shot attempts in the opening period, but a 5-1 shot advantage over the Gamecocks was not enough for FIU to break through before halftime.
The Panther attack finally found its breakthrough coming out of the locker room as they exploded for two goals in a five-minute stretch. Campoy — fresh off winning the C-USA Golden Boot award and starting in his first match since Sept. 28 at UAB — gave the Panthers the first goal of the match with a strike in the 47th minute. Alban Rousselet assisted on the play to put FIU up by a score of 1-0. The Panthers found the back of the net again in the 52nd minute off the foot of Xavi Olmos Ferris and suddenly FIU held a two-goal lead against South Carolina.
FIU maintained its pressure with six more shots the rest of the way, and in the 76th minute Andoni Garrogerricaechebarri added a scoring strike of his own to extend the lead to 3-0 for the Panthers. Inigo Sagarduy set up the second insurance goal to cap the scoring, as the Panthers claimed revenge over the Gamecocks and knocked South Carolina out of the C-USA tournament.
FIU picked up its fifth clean sheet of the 2019 campaign and led South Carolina 16-6 in shots for the night. The win for FIU marks only the second-ever over South Carolina in the history of the men's soccer program.
Campoy notched his sixth goal of the season and continues to lead the category in conference play. Xavi Olmos Ferris scored his fifth goal of the year and is now tied for second-most on FIU. Sagarduy logged his seventh assist of the season while Rousselet secured his sixth. The two senior Panthers rank first and second on FIU in the category, respectively. Garrogerricaechebarri scored his third goal of the year and is now tied with Stephen Afrifa for most among FIU freshmen.
UP NEXT
FIU extends its season and moves on to face No. 2 seeded Charlotte in the semifinal round of the C-USA Tournament. Kickoff against the 17th-ranked 49ers is slated for 7:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 15.
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