Men's Soccer Loses Tough Battle at No. 13 FIU

Tuesday, September 6

Miami, Fla.

7 p.m.

University of North Florida

0-3

FIU

3-1

North Florida

FIU

Photo by: Jeremiah Wilson

9/6/2022 9:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

MIAMI - North Florida men's soccer (0-3) was able to get 11 shots up on offense, but couldn't find the back of the net in a hard-fought 2-0 loss on the road to No. 13 FIU (3-1) on Tuesday night.

The Ospreys stayed grounded on defense throughout the entirety of the first half with no goals allowed going into the break. An early second-half score by the Panthers in the 50th minute, followed by another goal in the 73rd minute, was what proved to be the difference.

FIU moved up earlier this week to No. 13 in the College Soccer News Top 30 national poll after beating nationally-ranked St. John's and UNC on the road earlier this year. The Panthers were also receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll.

GOALS

50' | Yushi Nagao (Stephen Afrifa) - FIU
73' | Joao Domingues (Stephen Afrifa, Yushi Nagao) - FIU

HOW IT HAPPENED

A mishap by the Osprey goalkeeper in the 15th minute almost cost UNF, but the defense was able to recover in time to force a goal kick.
UNF kicked a beautiful corner kick in the 23rd minute, but Bendeguz Burka couldn't direct the header well enough to put it in play.
In the 29th minute, FIU got another look at goal, but the defense remained stingy with another blocked shot.
Zach Board sent a bullet to the keeper, but a great deflecting save kept it scoreless in the 37th minute.
Just moments later, the Panthers ripped a shot of their own, but Padraic Gilley made the save on his end as well.
Jaylen Yearwood got another great look right before the half, but it caromed right off the crossbar in the 42nd minute.
The Panthers responded once again with a late push as well, but their shot missed the post by the narrowest of margins to take the 0-0 score to halftime.
Alex Barnett put a stop to a three-man breakaway attack three minutes into the second half to stop what could've been the opening goal.
Yushi Nagao found himself with the ball in a scramble inside the box and got the ball past multiple Osprey defenders to give FIU the 1-0 lead.
After a few minutes of back and forth action between each team, Gilley reeled in a shot on goal from FIU in the 67th minute to keep the deficit at one score for the Ospreys.
In the 72nd minute, Herbie Steigelman unloaded on a shot just outside the box, but it went just over the post.
Just a minute afterwards, FIU successfully executed their second goal of the night after making a couple passes in the box to open up a lane for Joao Domingues.
In the final minutes of the game, Luto Tom had a shot go just right by a couple inches that all but secured the 2-0 loss in Miami.

RECORDS

North Florida | 0-3
No. 13 FIU | 3-1

QUICK KICKS

First loss to FIU since 2018 after either recording a win or tie in last three matches.
UNF recorded their second consecutive game with a double-digit shot total, but only came out with one on goal.
This is the first ranked team that UNF has faced since playing No. 13 UCF during the 2021 fall season.
Gilley set a season-best mark with four saves on the night after recording three in each of the past two games.
Tom also set a team-high mark on Tuesday night with four shots in his first start of the season.

FROM THE MOUTH OF MARINATOS

"I thought we had the better three chances in the first half. A breakaway early from Angus went wide, as well as a half-volley from Zach in which the keeper made a great save and Jaylen [Yearwood]'s shot off the crossbar. If we score just one it changes the game. Credit to FIU in the second half as they scored on a scrum in the box where the ball was not cleared and they managed the game from there. Then, they caught us on the counter to score the second goal. We have to finish our chances against top-25 opponents and strike first when we have the run of play if we want to get that result. We will pick ourselves up and recover and refocus as we prepare for Central Arkansas."

-- head coach Derek Marinatos