Weekend In Review: Men’s soccer wins fourth straight; football falls to Indiana

Darren Rios (left) scored two goals to help the Panthers defeat Penn at FIU Soccer Stadium on Sept. 10.

By Joel Delgado ’12 MS ’17 

With a pair of home victories against visiting Ivy League opponents over the weekend, the FIU men’s soccer team (4-2-0) is now riding a four-game winning streak as they prepare to open up conference play.

The men’s soccer team opened up the weekend on Thursday night with a 3-1 victory over Penn at FIU Soccer Stadium. After falling behind 1-0 at halftime, the Panthers scored three unanswered goals – two from senior midfielder Darren Rios – in the second half to rally their way to a third straight win.

Rios tied the game in the 51^st minute, corralling a pass near the left corner of the penalty area and blasting a shot past the Quakers’ goalkeeper. Rios struck again in the 63^rd minute, knocking in a rebound off a shot from midfielder Daniel Gonzalez that was initially knocked away by the goalkeeper.

The Panthers returned to the pitch on Saturday to host Princeton and again fell behind 1-0 early in the match. But a goal by sophomore forward Luca Giovine in the 75^th minute tied up the score and three minutes later sophomore midfielder Brad Fountain scored the game-winning goal to give the Panthers a 2-1 victory.

The Panthers open up Conference USA play against rival Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton on Sept. 18.

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

FOOTBALL

A pair of costly turnovers in the forth quarter during FIU football’s showdown with the Indiana Hoosiers sunk the Panthers in a 36-22 loss in Bloomington, Ind., on Sept. 12.

The Panthers took the lead early in the fourth quarter with a 28-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex McGough to receiver Dennis Turner. After converting the two-point conversion, FIU led 22-19 with just over 14 minutes left in the game.

But the Hoosiers tied the game with a field goal with 11:02 remaining and then recovered a fumble deep in FIU territory on the ensuing drive, which led to a touchdown to put the Hoosiers ahead 29-22.

With just under five minutes left in the game, the Panthers marched down to Indiana’s 2-yard line with a golden chance to tie the game. But on 4^th and goal, McGough rolled to his left and looked for a receiver in the end zone, but instead found himself under pressure from a Hoosier pass rush.

His pass attempt hung in the air and was intercepted by Indiana defensive back Jameel Cook, who returned it 96 yards for a touchdown to seal the game.

FIU wide receiver Thomas Owens was a major bright spot for the Panthers, catching nine passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

The Panthers (1-1) will host their home opener this weekend against N.C. Central at Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium on Sept. 19. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.

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

WOMEN’S SOCCER

A pair of late goals by junior Ellen Crist helped the women’s soccer team notch a 2-0 shutout win over North Florida on Sept. 11 at FIU Soccer Stadium.

Despite dominating the possession battle and outshooting the Ospreys for the most of the match, the game remained scoreless heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation. That changed when Crist converted a cross into the box into a goal in the 82^nd minute to give the Panthers the lead.

In the 86^th minute, Crist struck again with her second goal after senior midfielder Scarlet Montoya tapped a loose ball in the box her way for the insurance goal.

Two days later on Sept. 13, the Panthers traveled to Florida Gulf Coast and surrendered two first half goals in a 2-0 loss to the Eagles.

The Panthers (3-4-0) returns home to host UC-Irvine on Sept. 18 at FIU Soccer Stadium with the first touch scheduled for 7 p.m.

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

INDOOR VOLLEYBALL

At the Stetson Invitational this weekend, the indoor volleyball team came home with two wins.

The Panthers started the tournament with a 3-2 (26-24,15-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-10) win over host Stetson on Sept. 11. With 17 kills in the match, senior outside hitter Lucia Castro became only the seventh Panther in program history to reach 1,000 kills for their career.

FIU then swept Mercer 3-0 (25-18, 26-24, 25-13) to win the tournament title while senior Gloria Levorin was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, tallying 19 kills and 11 blocks during the Panthers two wins.

The Panthers improved to 6-2 on the season and will host the FIU Invite this weekend, featuring Bethune-Cookman, UCF and Seattle, on Sept. 17-18.

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

CROSS COUNTRY

At the UCF Invitational in Orlando this past weekend, sophomore Ronny Greenup led the men’s side and finished among the top three finishers with a time of 26:36.30 in his first 8K race of the season.

On the women’s side, Isolada Montiel was FIU’s top finisher in the 5K race with a time of 20:12.72.

For more information on FIU cross country, go to FIUSports.com.