No. 18 FIU poured on the goals on Saturday afternoon against the South Carolina men's soccer team. The 4-1 loss to the Panthers snapped South Carolina's longest win streak since 2016.
The lack of offense was a key problem throughout the evening. South Carolina was outshot by a score of 20-12 on the evening, with nine of those being in the first half and only four being on target throughout the game. FIU seemed to hit everything on target on the other hand, as it had 12.
The Gamecocks opened the game with a break, as sophomore forward Peter Clement broke the empty scoreline with a penalty kick goal on a soft touch to the right in the 26th minute. South Carolina dominated the first 30 minutes, creating chance after chance.
“We created probably four or five opportunities in the first 20 minutes," head coach Annan said.
In the 33rd minute, the Panthers responded with two quick goals taking its first lead of the game. Senior midfielder Talla Faye shot it on net, but freshman forward Bernardo Dos Santos Monteiro tipped it in for the Panthers’ first of the afternoon. Not even a minute later, Faye shot on net again and found the back of it without any help.
Going into the second half, South Carolina struggled to get chances in front of the net, as the Panthers offense owned the possession. FIU scored two goals off of soft touches, growing the frustrations on the afternoon.
Four minutes into the half, Dos Santos Monteiro found junior forward Rasmus Tobinski open to make the third goal of the afternoon.
At the 66th minute, junior forward Stephen Afrifa finished the frustrating afternoon for the Gamecock defense, capping the Panthers goals at four.
“Disappointment really. Disappointed in the way we approached the game," Annan said.
South Carolina will be back in action on Saturday, Oct. 23 as it faces off against Kentucky, the current No.6 team in the country, at 7 p.m. in Lexington.