Courtesy: FIUSports.com
Release: 09/12/2009

Box Score (PDF)

MIAMI - The FIU men's soccer team (2-2-0) put together a valiant rally with a limited roster but ran out of time in its 3-2 loss against Stetson on Friday night.

"Injuries are not helping us out. We had to reshuffle the lineup pretty much right before kickoff," Coach Munga Eketebi said. "We really only had two subs, but I still think we should have been able to pull it off or still tie the game."

Griffin Gilstrap lifted Stetson (2-0-0) to the win with two goals and an assist on the Hatters' final goal of the game.

FIU's defense held the score to 1-0 in the first half after Gilstrap scored before the 7-minute mark. Gilstrap found the goal again nearly seven minutes into the second half, but the Golden Panthers didn't take long to respond.

Freshman midfielder Sebastian Frings scored his third goal of the season with roughly 25 minutes left in the game. However, Stetson scored not a minute later to build a comfortable 3-1 lead.

FIU made the most of Diego Tamburus' penalty kick when Cesar DeOliveira headed in his first goal of the season with less than eight minutes remaining.

"They were just finding me," DeOliveira said. "You can't really give much space. Once the guy gave me space, I took it and just met the ball."

The Golden Panthers drew two more corner kicks but couldn't capitalize before time ran out. FIU returns to the field on Sunday at noon when it takes on Howard.