Rain, ten on ten soccer, and late game heroics is the brief story to explain what happened in the match between rivals FAU and FIU. Down 1-0, FAU responded with two goals in the final ten minutes to win their third straight against Florida International (4-5-4) (2-2-1 AAC) in heroic fashion.
The rain poured in Miami to start the match as the first half was sloppy. Florida Atlantic had five shots with two on goal compared to FIU’s four shots and two on goal. The problem for both teams was the foul tally.
The @FAUMSoccer Team is battling the rain, and battling #FIU. Down a man, they score what could be the winning GOAL, but appear to also be battling a familiar ref ONCE AGAIN who issues a ridiculous yellow card! 🗑️ pic.twitter.com/TLsDMswkDq
— FAU Owls Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) October 21, 2024
In total the first half had 11 fouls, seven by FAU, four by Florida International. Three yellow cards, and two reds on each team caused the second half to be played with only 10 men on the pitch for each team.
Coming in for relief of Nigel Van Haveren, FIU’s Beltran Fernandez made a fantastic save off of an Owls corner attempt as he managed to shove the ball off the post to keep the match even, 0-0.
After an FAU corner attempt in the 63rd minute it seemed Callum Frogson had broken the tie, but instead Kerfalla Toure was called for early contact on the set piece.
As both teams battled the rain, FIU’s Diego Castillo was able to find the bottom right of the goal to break the draw as the Panthers led 1-0 in the 72nd minute.
The final 15 minutes of play brought heavy rain, and a hard Florida Atlantic attack. FAU had the opportunity to regain a tie on a penalty attempt in the 88th minute. Arthur Widiez (pictured above, Angelina LaBelle) shot right as Ranieri jumped left and the Owls found the equalizer with just ten minutes left in the match.
The Owls searching for a victory over the Panthers found the go ahead goal as Matthew Alfred found the net to give Florida Atlantic a 2-1 lead with seven minutes to go.
🗣️ GOOOOOOOALS! #FAU ANSWERS WITH FEROCITY TO TIE IT UP AND THEN TAKES THE LEAD! 3 MINUTES FROM THE UPSET! LET'S GO! 🦉⚽️ pic.twitter.com/3pmSgKiKVp
— FAU Owls Nest (@FAU_Owls_Nest) October 21, 2024
The final minutes saw a hard Panther attack, but no goal was had as the Owls gained their third straight victory over Florida International.
Francisco Ranieri filling in for Nacho Alfaro has done a great job as he stays undefeated and had five saves on the night. Arthur Widiez led in shots with three as the Owls combined for 11 shots and 5 shots on goal. The total foul total was 15 for FIU and nine for Florida Atlantic. The Panthers had seven corner attempts while the Owls had three.
A huge win for FAU as the Owls are now sitting in fourth place in the AAC with Charlotte and Memphis both left on the schedule, the top two teams in the conference.
Florida Atlantic (5-4-3, 2-2-1 AAC) will finally finish their match against Stetson (4-4-4, 3-0-1 ASUN) from August 29. The match was suspended in the 53rd minute with the Owls leading 3-0. In that match Mamadou Diarra (pictured above, Angelina LaBelle) had a hat trick which will finally become official once the match between the Hatters and FAU reaches the 70th minute mark. The final 37 minutes will be played on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 4 P.M.