MIAMI – Senior Eduardo Mustre delivered a second-half brace to ignite the offense as FIU men's soccer rolled to a 4-1 season-opening victory over Omaha on Thursday night at Leyva Family Field at FIU Soccer Stadium.
 
The Panthers (1-0-0) erupted for four unanswered goals in the second half, with Mustre leading the charge behind his fourth career multi-goal performance, including the game-winner. Dating back to last season, the Córdoba, Mexico native has scored six goals in his last five matches.
 
The win marks FIU's first season-opening victory since Aug. 24, 2023, when the Panthers defeated (RV) Oregon State, 2-1, behind another Mustre brace.
 
Omaha struck first in the 23rd minute with a penalty kick conversion to take the early lead. FIU responded after halftime, as graduate student Scott Neil set up Nicolas Villalobos, whose touch found junior Pasquale Capriati for the equalizer in the 60th minute.
 
Nine minutes later, Neil delivered a perfectly placed cross that Mustre buried with a header for his first goal of the season and the eventual game-winner. Less than a minute later, Mustre struck again with a left-footed finish to double the advantage at 3-1 in the 71st minute of the match.
 
Neil shined in his Panther debut, recording three assists to set a new career high after transferring from Barry University.
 
For insurance, senior Enrique Mutsoli capped the second-half flurry with a right-footed strike into the corner of the net in the 86th minute, sealing the 4-1 victory.
 
FIU finished with 19 shots, led by Mustre's seven, while Capriati added three and Owen Travis contributed two. Villalobos and Capriati added with assists. Defensively, the Panthers clamped down after halftime, limiting Omaha to just two shots. 
 
Travis, returning from injury, logged the full 90 minutes as the only Panther to do so, while freshman Johan Helan impressed with 86 minutes in his debut. In goal, Nigel Van Haveren collected two saves to secure the win.

UP NEXT
FIU wraps up the season-opening homestand taking on the Creighton Bluejays on Sunday, Aug. 24 at 7 p.m. from Leyva Family Field at FIU Soccer Stadium. It will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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