Seton Hall
FIU holds off Seton Hall, 2-1
Date: September 8, 2019By: Connor Hester
The Pirates wrapped up a weekend road trip to Florida Sunday night, taking on Florida International. Seton Hall fell to Florida International University, 2-1.
Heading into the game, Seton Hall held a record of 1-1-0, the Panthers meanwhile were 2-0-1. FIU started out by applying the pressure on the Pirates, getting off three shots and a corner kick in the first eight minutes of the game on junior goalkeeper Andreas Nota. Seton Hall responded with pressure of their own, getting off two shots, but neither team could capitalize early.
In the 30th minute, the Panthers took over and started to control play. The Pirates made subs to stay fresh, but eventually the Panthers were able to overcome the Seton Hall defense. Daniel Gagliardi set up freshman Stephen Afrifa in the 39th minute, and he netted the first goal of his collegiate career that gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
The Panthers sustained their offensive attack and just six minutes later, Xavi Olmos Ferris scored his first goal of the season to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead heading into the half.
In the 46th minute, the Pirates were able to apply some pressure and forced an FIU foul, resulting in a yellow card for Jakob Rylander, and a penalty kick for Seton Hall. Senior Vittorio Argeri buried the penalty kick cutting the FIU lead in half, making it a 2-1 game.
The Pirates were never able to really get any sort of a rhythm going offensive for the rest of the night, as the two teams battled back and forth, trading fouls and offensive chances.
Seton Hall took 14 shots to the Panthers’ 15. The Pirates also had eight fouls to FIU’s seven. Stephen Elias, a graduate transfer out of NC State, headed the Pirates efforts to tie the game up, adding three shots with two on target. Senior Carlton McKenzie added three shots of his own in 62 minutes off the bench for the Pirates.
The Pirates fall to 1-2 on the season following their loss on Sunday night. Seton Hall returns to action next Saturday, September 14 at 6 p.m., when they visit the Lehigh Mountain Hawks (2-1) in Bethlehem, Pa.
Connor Hester can be reached at connor.hester@student.shu.edu.
