#21 FIU Men’s Soccer Knocks Off Oregon State in Season Opener

In FIU’s first game of the season, they had to play the part of road warriors and beat an Oregon State team that gave them everything they could handle. The Panthers edged out the Beavers by a score of 2-1.

After two straight conference championships and a 2022 win over New Hampshire in the NCAA tournament, FIU is only looking to above and beyond with their expectations in 2023.

With 23 juniors and seniors, this Panthers team brings both experience and stats to the table. They had to start against Oregon State, which has received votes to be nationally ranked.

It was FIU that set the tempo at first, with two shots on goal in the first five minutes. Their offense was spearheaded by junior forward Eduardo Mustre, a transfer from the Pachuca Academy of Liga MX.

Oregon State responded and answered back in the 14th minute with the first goal of the match. Playing from behind is something that FIU doesn’t have to do frequently, but they kept their cool and kept the pressure on offense.

13 minutes later, a setup cross by FIU midfielder João Domíngues that traveled to the post resulted in a header shot by Mustre for an equalizer heading into halftime.

The second half of soccer was feisty and competitive on both sides of the ball. Both FIU and Oregon State kept looking for the right opportunity, with Mustre continuing to lead the charge.

Mustre got his break in the 57th minute, thanks to a well-placed cross by midfielder Yushi Nagao, which he redirected into the bottom corner of the net for his second goal and a 2-1 Panthers lead.

It came down to the wire after a defensive stalemate that lasted 20 minutes. Eventually, Oregon State landed themselves a penalty kick to potentially tie, but FIU’s veteran goalkeeper Tyler Hogan made the clutch stop to keep the 2-1 lead, which the Panther held on to until the whistles blew.

An even matchup resulted in even statistics, with the Beavers edging out the Panthers in shots by 16 to 13, but both teams had seven on goal. The whistles blew a lot in this match, as FIU was called for 21 fouls compared to Oregon State’s nine. Hogan still came up huge with six saves on the night.

The Panthers will face off against the VCU Rams on Monday, August 28th at 7pm in their home opener.