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Friday, November 8, 2002
Men's Soccer Routs Mercer
 he Florida International men's soccer
team stretched its unbeaten streak to 12 as the Golden Panthers
routed Mercer, 6-0, Friday night at University Park.
FIU - which has already earned
a berth into the NCAA Tournament by virtue of winning the Atlantic
Soccer Conference title - toyed with the Bears for most of the
game, controlling the midfield and outshooting Mercer 19-13.
Matias Asorey got the Golden
Panthers on the board in the 22nd minute when John Pulido's cross
from the left endline landed in front of the goal and found the
racing Asorey who knocked it into the back of the net. With the
goal, Asorey moved to ninth all-time among career scoring leaders
at FIU with 66 points.
Pulido then created his own shot
in the 38th minute, dribbling through the Mercer defense in front
of the goal before ripping a shot into the left corner of the
net.
The remainder of the first half
belonged to forward Paul Kolovos. The sophomore netted his first
career goal in the 43rd minute after he intercepted a misplayed
ball by the Mercer defense and sped past a Bear defender before
winning a one-on-one with Mercer goalkeeper Jonathan Riley. Kolovos
struck again in the 45th minute when Lucas Scudeler slid a cross
from the leftside of the penalty box through the defense and
to Kolovos' feet, giving Kolovos a clear shot on goal and his
second goal in two minutes.
Oscar Gil extended FIU's lead
to 5-0 in the 57th minute when he single-handedly took on the
Mercer backline, dribbling and spinning through Bear defenders
before neatly placing the ball past Riley and into the back of
the net.
Rookie Jared Rose closed out
the scoring in the 90th minute when he took advantage of a failed
attempt by the Bear defense to pull an offside trap. Rose took
a long pass from goalkeeper Roy Rosenberg up the middle of the
field and beat Riley in a one-on-one for his first career goal.
FIU goalkeeper Shawn Crowe shared
the shutout with Rosenberg in Crowe's first collegiate start.
Rosenberg made four saves and notched his second career assist
while Crowe was not tested.
This evening's contest was the
final home game of the season and the final home contest for
the three seniors on the team - Alvaro Aservi, Asorey and Juan
Rivera. The trio was honored in pregame ceremonies. The players
and coaches also honored Charles and Susan Boswell, parents of
Billy and Bobby Boswell, for their continued support of the program.
The Boswell's have attended all of FIU's games this year.
The victory improved FIU's record
to 11-4-1. The 12-game unbeaten streak is the longest since the
1991 squad went undefeated in its final 18 regular season games
before losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Mercer - regular-season champions
from the Atlantic Sun Conference -fell to 10-6-1.
The Golden Panthers are on the
road for the final two games of the regular season. FIU travels
to Orlando, Fla., to face UCF on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. and takes
on South Carolina the following Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in Columbia,
S.C. Mercer returns to action in the Atlantic Sun Conference
Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla., Nov. 14-16. |