MIAMI (Sept. 21, 2019) - The No. 22 ranked FIU men's soccer team remained unbeaten and picked up an important three points in the Conference USA standings on Saturday night, as they shutout Old Dominion by a score of 5-0 in front of their home crowd at FIU Soccer Stadium.
The Panthers now improve to 5-0-2 on the season, while the Monarchs fall to 1-4-1. FIU also improves its C-USA record to 2-0, while ODU falls to 0-1-1.
FIU posted a clean sheet in the match after outstanding defensive play in both periods, holding Old Dominion to zero goals and only seven shots in the entire outing. Alessandro Campoy continued his productive play for FIU as he scored in the 38th minute thanks to an assist from Andrew Booth, which gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead over the Monarchs in the opening period. The Panthers fired away seven shots in the first half including four shots-on-goal, while the Monarchs recorded only three shots with one on-goal.
Campoy remained red-hot for FIU coming out of the break, claiming his second goal of the match in the 57th minute. Owen Green logged an assist on the play as the Panthers extended their lead to 2-0.
While Campoy reaped the glory early on, Caleb Franke quickly became the star of the night as the sophomore exploded for three goals in a span of less than 10 minutes to help FIU pull away from the Monarchs. Moments after checking into the game during the 74th minute, Franke scored off a setup from Matias Barraza to put the Panthers up 3-0. In the 83rd minute Franke found the back of the net again after fielding a beautiful cross from Anthony Cousins, Jr. The Panther onslaught continued as Franke tapped in an easy goal in the 84th minute, thanks to some clever ball movement by Stephen Afrifa and Inigo Sagarduy. Both were credited with assists on FIU's fifth goal of the day.
The 5-0 shutout over ODU marks the first clean sheet by the Panthers this season, and the first shutout posted by FIU since defeating Omaha 2-0 in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Tournament on November 16, 2017.
Franke's hat-trick marks the second time this season that a Panther has accomplished the feat, after Alessandro Campoy scored three goals against FAU last Saturday. Franke suddenly finds himself tied with Campoy for first in C-USA with five goals on the season, and his 10 points rank second-most in C-USA behind only Campoy (12).
Afrifa now has eight points in 2019 after claiming his second assist of the year. Sagarduy continues to lead C-USA in assists after picking up his fourth. Booth has seven points this season and is tied with Green for second-best in C-USA with three assists. Barraza, Sagarduy, and Green all have six points for the season. Cousins also claimed his very first points as a Panther in the match, while goalkeeper Daniel Gagliardi posted his first shutout of 2019 with two saves.
FIU continues to see high production from a long list of players this season, fielding a deep squad in which a different player has stepped up every night to contribute to the Panthers' unbeaten start.
UP NEXT
FIU finishes off a three-game homestand next week, when they host Stetson on Tuesday, September 24th at FIU Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET. For tickets to all FIU home events, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit our ticket home page at FIUSports.com.
