Weekend in Review: Soccer and volleyball pick up wins

Men’s soccer defender Marvin Hezel was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week for his role helping the Panthers pick up a pair of weekend victories.

By Joel Delgado ’12 MS ’17 

As the FIU football team completed a 15-14 upset in Orlando over rival UCF on Sept. 3 to kick off their season, the Panthers men’s soccer team was looking for the first win back home in Miami – and they delivered.

The Panthers came from behind and defeated Fairfield with a 2-1 win thanks to two late goals in their home opener.

FIU trailed 1-0 in the second half after surrendering a goal in the 76^th minute of the match. But two minutes later, a pass into the center of the box from freshman defender Steffen Bohn landed at the feet of midfielder Daniel Gonzalez, who struck it in for the tying goal.

In the 82nd minute, Luis Betancur provided the Panthers with the game-winning goal with a header off a perfectly placed cross from junior Jamar Campion-Hinds.

The Panthers then traveled upstate to take on the Stetson Hatters on Sept. 6 and came back home with a 3-0 win over the Hatters.

Goals from Brad Fountain (16^th minute) and Santiago Patino (28^th minute) helped the Panthers jump out to a 2-0 lead at the half. Campion-Hinds added another insurance goal for FIU in the 65^th minute, the first goal of his collegiate career.

For his efforts over the weekend, defender Marvin Hezel was named the Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week. This is the first time Hezel has received this honor from the conference.

The men’s soccer team now holds a 2-2 record and will host Penn at FIU Soccer Stadium on Sept. 10 with kickoff set for 7 p.m.

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

INDOOR VOLLEYBALL

After winning the Panther Challenge to open up the season, the FIU indoor volleyball team traveled to Birmingham, Ala., for the Blazer Classic this past weekend.

Their first match was against Conference USA foe and tournament host UAB on Sept. 4 and the Panthers came away with 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 23-25, 25-14, 15-8) win over the Blazers. Senior Lucia Castro and sophomore Jennifer Ene each had 15 kills apiece to help the Panthers improve to 3-0 all-time against the Blazers.

The following the day, the Panthers were swept by Austin Peay 3-0 (11-25, 15-25, 11-25) but bounced back with a 3-0 sweep of their own (25-11, 25-15, 25-11) to defeat Savannah State.

The Panthers are now 4-2 with a 1-0 record in conference play and travel to Deland, Fla., for the Stetson Westin Classic on Sept. 11-12.

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

WOMEN’S SOCCER

The FIU women’s soccer team returned home from a pair of games in Ohio this Labor Day weekend with a loss to No. 17-ranked Ohio State and a win against Miami (OH).

After falling behind 1-0 at the half against the Buckeyes on Sept. 4, the Panthers struck back with a goal from senior midfielder Madlen Weinhardt just 15 seconds into the second half. But an own goal in the 10 minutes later followed by a goal the Buckeyes’ Sammy Edwards off of a corner kick in the 66^th minute sunk the Panthers is a 3-1 loss.

The Panthers rebounded on Sept. 6 against Miami (OH) with a 1-0 victory.

With the game scoreless in the 80^th minute, Weinhardt booted a corner kick into the box and then fired in a shot off a rebound into the back of the net to give the Panthers the go-ahead goal.

Now sitting at 2-3 on the season, the Panthers will go for a second straight win against North Florida at FIU Soccer Stadium on Sept. 11. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

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