FIU Soccer Beats Stetson to Remain Undefeated

The Panthers during pre-game. Indya Vassell/PantherNOW

Giuliana La Mendola/Contributing Writer

The FIU men’s soccer team beat the Stetson Hatters with a final score of 2-0 in their home game on Tuesday, Sep. 24.

Coming off of an exciting 5-0 victory in their previous match against the Old Dominion Monarchs, the Panthers came ready to play. The Hatters were not going easy either as both teams were gunning for their sixth win of the season.

From the kick-off, FIU was aggressive on offense. The Hatters responded with some hard defense when Stetson defender Calum Ferguson received a yellow card in the first 17 minutes for fouling last week’s C-USA offensive player of the week, midfielder Caleb Franke.

The remainder of the first half seemed like an even match-up. FIU went into halftime with only two shots on target and one corner kick.

The Panthers began passing the ball constantly, attempting to confuse the Stetson Hatters and break them out of formation. Head coach Kevin Nylen then subbed in sophomore midfielder Talla Faye, along with junior midfielder Matias Barraza and freshman forward Ronaldo Marshall, changing the faces of the three main offensive players.

Coach Nylen’s strategy proved to be effective as Faye scored the first goal of the match in the 72nd minute off of Marshall’s assist.

The Hatters were determined to retaliate against this new offense. Not long after Faye’s goal, Stetson midfielder Gio Rodriguez was given a yellow card for overly aggressive play, the second of the match.

With only a few minutes to go, senior defender Andrew Booth makes the second and final goal of the match in the 88th minute off of Barraza’s assist.

The FIU team played as a unit in this match, supporting each other play after play. 

“I love my teammates so much. I feel like we are very bonded, especially to the seniors and I will be sad when the leave” Faye commented, “We just keep improving as the season goes on.”

The game concluded with a final score of 2-0, giving the Panther’s their sixth win of the season. The team’s next match will be against the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Saturday, Sept. 28.

“Before every game, we watch film so we can identify the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses to plan our approach,” said  Fay

 

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