FIU Men’s Soccer Beats FGCU to Open the 2021 Season

Fabio Lopez / Staff Writer

The FIU men’s soccer team earned their first victory of the 2021 season with a 3-2 win at home over the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.

Additionally, coach Kyle Russel also earned his first victory for the Panthers after being signed to the position back in February 2020. 

FIU’s historical head-to-head record against the Eagles is now 8-4, with the Panthers winning three of their last four encounters. Their last match on October 8th, 2019 resulted in a 3-2 win for FIU in double overtime.

Wednesday’s match saw FGCU take an early 1-0 lead in the 22nd minute. However, it took only eight minutes for the Panthers to respond with goals by forward Rasmus Tobinski in the 26th minute and defender David Garcia in the 28th minute to flip the score to 2-1 for FIU at halftime. Both goals were assisted by defender Owen Green and midfielder Matias Barraza.

Coming out of halftime, the Eagles tied it at two each in the 57th minute. FIU fought back following the goal with three attempts before defender Anthony Cousins Jr. assisted forward Alessandro Campoy to give FIU the lead in the 74th minute. FIU managed to hold on to their 3-2 lead to win the game.

Overall, the Panthers took 13 shots with five of them on goal, compared to the Eagles’ nine shots with five on target.

For FIU, Goalkeeper Johan Penaranda performed the most saves with three to FGCU’s two. The match also proved to be a very physical affair as the Panthers committed 22 fouls to the Eagle’s 13.

FIU’s next game will be at home against the North Florida Ospreys on Sunday, February 21st at noon.