BOCA RATON, Florida (Sep. 14, 2019) - The FIU men's soccer team claimed their first road win of the 2019 campaign on Saturday night against a conference rival, as they defeated FAU in Boca Raton by a score of 6-1 to begin the C-USA portion of the schedule.  

FIU remains undefeated and now improves to 4-0-1 on the season, while FAU falls to 2-2. 

The match between the two South Florida rivals was exciting from the get-go, as three goals were scored before the 10-minute mark — with FIU holding a 2-1 advantage. Tom Abrahamsson got FAU on the board first with a score in the 6th minute, but Caleb Franke quickly equalized in the 8th minute to claim his second goal of 2019, thanks to an assist from Alessandro Campoy. Later in the 23rd minute, Campoy was awarded a penalty shot attempt and successfully converted to put FIU up by a score of 2-1 over the Owls.

Things turned for FAU when a red card on Graeme Pratt in the 32nd minute forced the Owls to play with ten men the rest of the way. Matias Barraza was able to help extend the Panther lead to 3-1 with about ten minutes remaining in the half, as Inigo Sagarduy assisted on the play.

Campoy was the standout of the match, as the junior caught fire in the second period. In the 48th minute he logged a second score, while freshman David Garcia claimed his first career Panther assist on the play. Then in the 58th minute, Campoy converted his second penalty shot attempt of the day for a hat trick. The three goals scored by Campoy mark a career-high, and the seven points total also become a career-best.

The Panthers' production was not completely exhausted however, as freshman Ronaldo Marshall earned his first career goal as a member of FIU in the 81st minute to put the Panthers up by a whopping margin of 6-1. Fellow freshman Stephen Afrifa assisted on the goal, earning his first as a Panther. The scoring play was a special moment for Marshall and Afrifa, who previously played on the same youth club team in Ontario, Canada prior to arriving at FIU.

Sagarduy earned his third assist of the season, as the graduate student now leads FIU in that category. Barraza's goal marked his second of 2019. Additionally, goalkeeper Daniel Gagliardi continues to have a productive season as he logged six saves and played a full 90 minutes for a fifth consecutive game. 

UP NEXT
FIU is back in action against another in-state foe on Tuesday, Sep. 17 when they return home to host North Florida at FIU Soccer Stadium. Kickoff against the Ospreys is set for 7 p.m. ET.
 
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