FIU men defeat UNC Wilmington

It took nearly 74 minutes, but Sebastian Frings and the FIU attack came alive late as the Golden Panthers took down the Seahawks of UNC Wilmington by the score of 2-0, Sunday afternoon at the FIU Soccer Stadium.



Frings scored his second goal of the season in the 74th minute, and Steven Jair Cabas added a goal on a penalty kick with less than two minutes to go, giving FIU its second victory of the season.



In the 16th minute, Steven Jair Cabas dribbled into the box, beating two UNC Wilmington defenders, but his shot was turned away by Brandon Miller. Cabas would take two more shots in the half, one of them on goal.



With about a minute to go in the first half, Diego Tamburus took a through pass and got deep into the UNCW zone, before a Seahawks defender caught up to him, forcing an off-balance shot that was saved. The save kept the match scoreless as the teams headed into the intermission.



Will Thompson nearly broke the scoreless tie in the 60th minute with a header off a Fadi Mansour corner kick. However his shot was just a few inches off target, keeping the match scoreless.



Five minutes later, Diego Tamburus sent a ball into the box that looked to be the first score after Sebastian Frings got past the UNCW defense and headed the ball towards goal. However his shot bounced off the crossbar and out of play, ending the FIU threat.



Frings put FIU on the board in the 74th minute with a powerful strike into the top left corner of the net, giving the Golden Panthers the first score of the day. The shot was made possible by Steven Cabas, who controlled a ball inside the box and passed it off to Frings near the top of the box. From there, the German freshman would not miss as he netted his second goal of the year.



Cabas and Christian Dominguez connected on a give-and-go in the 85th giving Dominguez a one-on-one opportunity with the UNCW keeper. However, Dominguez wasn’t able to convert as his shot went harmlessly over the goal.



At the other end, UNCW’s Daniel Roberts had an opportunity to tie the score when he took a pass in front of goal just outside the box and fired on goal. Despite the wide open chance, the shot sailed high, keeping FIU in the lead.



With less than two minutes to go, Cabas and Dominguez again set up an FIU run, giving Dominguez another free run at the keeper. This time, Dominguez was taken down in the box by UNCW’s Christian Davidson, earning Davidson a red card and FIU a penalty shot. Cabas took the shot for the Golden Panthers and didn’t miss, giving FIU a 2-0 lead they would not relinquish.



The win improves FIU’s record to 2-1-0 while the loss drops the Seahawks to 2-1-0. Phillip Lamarre, who made his FIU debut, earned the victory in goal for the Golden Panthers. He recorded



The Golden Panthers will return to action at home when they host the Hatters of Stetson on Friday, September 11 at 8:30 p.m.