Weekend In Review: Football wins 39-14 in home opener


By Joel Delgado ’12 MS ’17 

For the first time this season, FIU football played in front of a friendly crowd at FIU Stadium on Sept. 19 – and they did not disappoint the FIU faithful.

The Panthers (2-1) rolled to a 39-14 victory over N.C. Central in their home opener on Saturday at FIU Stadium.

After a pair of field goals by kicker Austin Taylor in the first quarter gave FIU the early lead, quarterback Alex McGough delivered the first highlight-reel worthy play of the evening with a deep pass to wide receiver Dennis Turner, who beat his defenders and raced into the end zone for a 64-yard score to give the Panthers a 12-0 lead.

In the final moments of the first quarter, N.C. Central gave FIU a momentary scare when Eagles defensive back Jaquell Taylor stepped up, intercepted a short pass from McGough and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.

But it was pretty much all Panthers from that point forward. McGough threw two more touchdown passes, firing a throw to tight end Jonnu Smith for a 10-yard score in the second corner and then connecting with wide receiver Thomas Owens on a slant route for a 16-yarder in the third quarter.

McGough finished with 242 yards passing, completing 22 of his 36 pass attempts and also rushing for 80 yards in the win.

Freshman Anthony Jones rushed through the Eagles defense for a 26-yard touchdown run, the first touchdown of his collegiate career. Running back Alex Gardner also rushed for a touchdown and led all FIU rushers with 81 yards on the ground on 20 carries.

The Panthers defense continues to look strong early on in the season, holding the Eagles to just 1.7 yards per carry and allowing less than 209 yards of total offense (FIU had 490 yards of total offense by comparison).

FIU goes back on the road next weekend, opening up Conference USA play with a matchup against Louisiana Tech on Sept. 26. The next FIU football home game is Oct. 10 against the UTEP Miners.

For more information about FIU football, go to FIUSports.com.

INDOOR VOLLEYBALL

It was a busy weekend for FIU indoor volleyball as the team played host for a handful of teams for the FIU Invite tournament and welcomed archrival Florida Atlantic to campus on Sunday.

After opening up the weekend with a 3-1 (25-19, 19-25, 25-23, 25-19) win over Bethune-Cookman on Thursday afternoon, the Panthers dropped their next two contests against UCF and then Seattle.

But the Panthers bounced back with a 3-1 win over the Owls on Sunday afternoon at FIU Arena, with senior Lucia Castro leading the way for the Panthers with 16 kills to help FIU remain unbeaten in conference play.

The Panthers are now 8-4 overall and 2-0 against Conference USA opponents this season. They hope to keep their conference unblemished this weekend with a road match against Rice in Houston, Texas, on Sept. 25.

For more information of FIU indoor volleyball, go to FIUSports.com.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

FIU women’s soccer hosted a pair of home matches this weekend, shutting out the UC Irvine Anteaters with a 2-0 win on Friday night but losing 6-1 against the No. 12 ranked Florida Gators on Sunday.

In their win over the Anteaters, Madlen Weinhardt and Alyssa Robinson scored goals for the Panthers to help sophomore goalkeeper Nevena Stojakovic earn the seventh shutout of her career.

But the Panthers were outmatched against the Gators, falling behind 3-0 in the first half before Robinson scored FIU’s lone goal in the 42nd minute. For the Gators, Brooke Sharp and Savannah Jordan picked up two goals apiece to down the Panthers.

FIU is now 4-5 on the season and opens up Conference USA play at home this weekend with matches at FIU Soccer Stadium against UTSA on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. and UTEP on Sept. 27 at 1 p.m.

For more information on FIU women’s soccer, go to FIUSports.com.

MEN’S SOCCER

The FIU men’s soccer team was scheduled to take on Florida Atlantic on Sept. 18, but bad weather in Boca Raton forced the postponement of the contest.

The game between the Panthers (4-2-0) and Owls (0-4-1), the first Conference USA match for both teams, has been rescheduled for tonight at 6 p.m. at FAU Soccer Stadium.

After tonight’s game, the Panthers will host Marshall at FIU Soccer Stadium on Sept. 26 with a start time set for 7 p.m.

For more information on FIU men’s soccer, go to FIUSports.com.