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Florida International Advances to Second Round of NCAA Tournament
Despite a slow start, and an early 1-0 deficit, the Florida International men's soccer team battled back to win their NCAA Tournament first-round match-up with Central Florida 2-1 Friday night at University Park. The struggles for FIU lasted nearly an entire half, before the Golden Panthers finally got on the board in the 45th minute, 37 seconds before halftime. "I thought we were nervous, and we didn't play as well as we could have early on," head coach Karl Kremser said. "We were never able to get in an offensive rhythm in the first half, and that's a credit to Central Florida. It was a war out there." The Golden Knights got on the board first, thanks to a goal from junior defender Brian Malec in the 33rd minute. Malec received a long pass in the box from sophomore midfielder Jaime Planells and headed it home for the early lead. Junior midfielder Billy Boswell delivered Florida International's equalizer, courtesy of an assist from junior defender Adam Wilson. Wilson headed the ball into the center of the box, and Boswell left his feet and recorded a bicycle-kick goal from 5 feet out. The Golden Panthers scored the game-winning goal early in the second half. Senior midfielder Juan Rivera scored on a mid-range cross from sophomore forward Oscar Gil in the 51st minute, shooting the ball from the top left corner of the box. From there, FIU played shutout ball to preserve the victory. The win was the first earned by freshman goalkeeper Shawn Crowe. Crowe had started two games before tonight in place of junior Roy Rosenberg, but hadn't earned a decision until tonight. "We made a change in goal because we felt that Roy (Rosenberg) wasn't playing as well as he could have late in the year," Kremser said. "He was getting too tentative with the crosses, and I think that Shawn did a great job with those tonight. I don't know how many times he plucked the ball off somebody's head." Florida International (13-5-1) now advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to face SMU in Dallas next Wednesday. The Golden Knights finish the season at 10-8-3. "It wasn't our best game, but it was a significant game in that it allowed us to move on to the next round," Kremser said. "I think UCF backed off once they got the lead, and that allowed us to get our bearings and come back." | ||
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