Alex Rivera/ Contributing Writer
After a decisive 3-0 victory over South Carolina, FIU looks to use this momentum to see out the rest of the C-USA tournament, and this means they’ll need a win against Charlotte to get into the final.
FIU comes into the game after scoring three unanswered goals in the second half of their quarterfinal against South Carolina, now with 10 wins, two losses, and five draws. In their next match, the Panther will face a number two seed Charlotte that has 10 wins, two losses, and four draws.
Since the two have played, Charlotte was able to win their home games against Old Dominion and North Florida while losing to FGCU. Each of the three games saw Charlotte win or lose by one goal.
The similarity between the two teams continues with the fact that the last time the two played against one another, it resulted in a 0-0 draw after overtime. That said, FIU has a better shot on goal percentage than the 49ers this season at 49 percent compared to 39 percent. In that same statistic, it shows that FIU has been able to create more chances. After their performance against South Carolina, FIU showed that they are able to turn their shots on goal into goals.
In their last matchup, FIU was able to take 15 shots, five on goal against Charlotte. At the same time, Charlotte was only able to make four shots and only one on goal. Apart from creating chances, both sides showed the same level of unclean play, both committing a rare high of 11 fouls aside.
With a win against Charlotte, FIU can find their way into the C-USA postseason final on Sunday where they would face either Marshall or Kentucky. Until then, it is just a matter of making the most of the chances created to get a result.
The Panthers will play their semifinal against the Charlotte 49ers on Friday, Nov 15 at Old Dominion University Soccer Complex.
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