MIAMI (October 12, 2012) – The FIU men’s soccer team (7-3-2) defeated the Howard Bison 2-1 Friday evening at the FIU Soccer Stadium. The win gives the Panthers seven for the season, matching its total of a year ago.

 

“I think we had a really good first half,” Head Coach Kenny Arena said. “Obviously, giving up the goal gave them some momentum and changed what could have been a really good second half. Some guys got a little tired, but at the end of the day, they did a really good job to get the win. They definitely deserved to win the game and we’re really happy to get our seventh win of the season. It’s a good confidence booster moving forward to play SMU [at home] on Wednesday.” 

 

It didn’t take the Panthers long to get on the board against the Bison. In the fourth minute, Lucas Di Croce passed the ball to Daniel Gonzalez off a corner kick. Gonzalez then sent a cross inside the area where Colby Burdette was perfectly placed to score on a header. The goal was the fourth of the season for Burdette. The assist for Gonzalez was his fourth while Di Croce picked up his second helper of the season on the goal.  

 

“We came out strong but we didn’t play to the best of our abilities,” Burdette said. “In the end, we got the win and that’s all that matters. We’re just looking to go forward from here.

 

“As soon as the ball was played, I tried to beat my guy,” Burdette said about his goal. “I then got around him and went up for the ball and made sure I connected with it.”  

 

FIU took a 2-0 advantage in the 33^rd minute on a Niko Rodriguez goal. Rodriguez received the ball in the middle of the area on a pass from Lyle Lindquest and sent it past the keeper for his second goal of the season. The assist gave Lindquist five for the season, which leads the team.

 

Two minutes into the second half, Howard cut the lead to 2-1 on a Brian Monge goal. The FIU defense held strong throughout the remainder of the second stanza to preserve the 2-1 victory. FIU out-shot Howard 13-10 and had six more corner kicks than the Bison. Freshman goalkeeper Robin Spiegel had two saves on three chances.

 

The Panthers will return to Conference USA action on Wednesday, October 17, when they take on the SMU Mustangs at FIU Soccer Stadium. Game time is 7:00 p.m.

For tickets to all FIU home matches, call the FIU Ticket Office at 305-FIU-GAME or log onto www.FIUSports.com. Fans can follow @FIUMensSoccer on Twitter and find us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/FIUMensSoccer. Fans can also watch all FIU men’s soccer home matches live on FIUSports.com on our free webcasts.
 

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including U.S. Century Bank Arena and Alfonso Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. Its colleges and schools offer more than 180 bachelors, masters and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida’s anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls nearly 48,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 140,000 alumni live and work in South Florida. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.

 

 

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