QUEENS, New York (Aug. 29, 2022) - No. 18 ranked FIU men's soccer earned its first win of the season on Monday against another Top-25 opponent on the road, taking down No. 25 ranked St. John's by a shutout score of 1-0.

FIU's record now stands at 1-1 on the young season, while St. John's falls to 0-2.

The Panthers saw a beautiful scoring strike from captain Julian Hodek on a free kick, and were also fueled by a brilliant performance from freshman goalkeeper Kevin Harr, who helped FIU log its first clean sheet of the season.

In the 19th minute, an attacking Paulo Alves drew a foul just outside the box that resulted in a yellow card for St. John's. Hodek took the ensuing free kick and curled a shot perfectly into the right top corner of the net to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead over the Red Storm.

Yushi Nagao saw an incredible chance to extend FIU's lead only a minute later on a build up that carried all the way into the Red Storm's six-yard box, but a save by the Johnnies' goalkeeper staved off the attempt.

Following the intermission, FIU went on to display an inspiring collective defensive performance to keep the Johnnies off the board and secure the shutout. Harr, who collected six saves on the night including five in the second half, turned away multiple dangerous opportunities by the talented Red Storm attack. The Panther backliners also pitched in with several key blocked shot attempts in the final 45 minutes.

With only 2:20 left to play, St John's saw one final effort to score off a set piece, but Harr positioned himself perfectly in the box to stop a header attempt from the Red Storm.

Nagao, Hodek, and Fumiya Shiraishi each fired one shot on-goal in the contest. David Garcia, Edgar Aguilar, and Harr all logged a full 90-minutes.

UP NEXT
FIU's gauntlet of a schedule continues on the road this Saturday, Sept. 3, against a 24th-ranked North Carolina program that was picked to finish second overall in the ACC standings. First kick against the Tar Heels is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET from Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill.

SOCIAL MEDIA
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