Score: RV/No. 19 FIU 1, No. 12/18 VCU 0
Location: Miami, Fla. (FIU Soccer Stadium)
Records: No. 12/18 VCU 1-1-1, RV/No. 19 FIU 3-0-0
 
The short story: A goal from a corner kick in the 73rd minute gave the Panthers the advantage in a physical match between ranked teams that saw six total yellow cards.
 
QUICK FACTS

• Senior goalkeeper Mario Sequeira made 10 saves in goal for the Rams, his second straight match with double-digit saves.
• FIU is ranked No. 19 in the College Soccer News poll and is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll, while VCU is No. 12 in the USC poll, No. 18 in College Soccer News, and ranked No. 24 by TopDrawerSoccer.
• The Panthers out-shot the Rams by a 21-7 margin, including 11-1 in shots on goal.
• The match was paused for over an hour in the 73rd minute for a lightning delay.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Sequeira was alert early, diving quickly to his lower right corner in the sixth minute to deny a hard shot from 25 yards out and controlling the rebound.
• In the 24th minute, sophomore winger Celio Pompeu made a dangerous run into the box, flicking the ball over one defender and taking a touch around another before his effort was cleared away.
• The Rams had their best look at goal in the 44th minute. Freshman midfielder Damian Gallegos played the ball wide to freshman midfielder Tariq Moutaouakil, who delivered a cross from the left wing. Graduate forward Pablo Varela Fraga flicked a header towards goal, but his shot banged off the post.
• Senior forward Biska Biyombo made a powerful run into the box in the 54th minute, but his shot was blocked.
• Sequeira made his best save of the night in the 57th minute, reacting quickly to make a point blank save on a header from six yards out. Moments later, he dove to push another shot out for a corner kick.
• FIU took the lead in the 73rd minute through David Garcia, who finished Mauro Bravo's redirection of Matthias Lavenant's corner kick.
• Redshirt freshman forward Wladimir Gassant registered a shot on goal in the 85th minute, deflecting a cross and forcing a save at the near post.
• Pompeu lined up a direct free kick in the 90th minute, but his shot went into the wall. Pompeu collected the rebound, danced through several FIU defenders and ripped a shot that went over the bar.

 
QUOTING HEAD COACH DAVE GIFFARD
"Not a good performance from us tonight against another top-25 team, but an excellent opportunity to learn a valuable lesson early in the season if we take it the way we need to. I have a very clear picture of how this team can perform at the highest level that we are capable of, and it's with an enormous amount of energy and aggressiveness on both sides of the ball.
 
Tonight, that in no way describes the first 73 minutes of play. After the break, we had much more purpose but we also gave away more than we should have. In those 17 minutes, we created more chances than we did in the previous 73. Last weekend, we gave a ton of energy to the two games and I wasn't able to push this week in training the way that we will need to if we want to make those things habits.
 
Just as nothing is won or lost on opening weekend, the same holds true for the second weekend of the year. What's most important for us is we learn the lesson after seeing what happens when it isn't right after one game. This is what's good about playing top competition week in and week out. The level is high enough to show you when things aren't right and nothing is lost in the big picture as teams like FIU will win a lot of games."
 
UP NEXT
The Rams close out a stretch of four road matches against ranked opponents to start the season, playing at Charlotte, who is ranked No. 24 in the College Soccer News poll, Friday, Sept. 10 at 5 p.m.