HIALEAH Fla. (Oct. 15, 2022) – On a low humidity day, Florida National’s men’s soccer team bounced back from their first loss of the season to execute a dominant 5-0 win over the Florida College Falcons. FNU came into the contest following their 4-0 loss to Southeastern and was ranked No. 19 in the NAIA’s Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. The Falcons fall to 3-6-1 and 0-1-0 in conference play with this loss while FNU gains a much-needed win to propel them to 8-1-2 overall.
The first half, was relatively quiet for the visiting Falcons as they were held to no shots through 45 minutes of play. FNU was locked in on offense early with 17 shots aimed toward the goal. While some shots sailed wide or too high off the mark, Florida National connected on a header from Ricardo Delwing at the 14-minute mark for the 1-0 lead. Nicolas Martinez and Martin Marijuan assisted on the score and both sides retired for the second half.
When play continued in the next period, FNU went on an offensive tear that culminated in four goals. Four minutes into the half, Pedro Navarro slid in a goal on an assist from Patricio Amores to double FNU’s lead. Marcos Bakale continues his impressive season after tallying a goal on passes from Metheus Teixeira and Vinicius Mallmann. Matteo Mantchoff made a big splash in his debut nailing his first goal of the season with help from Vinnicius Derrico Pereira and Juan Castano.
Towards the 77-minute mark, FNU had a great opportunity to make it 5-0 after Florida College goalkeeper Markus Sundin was given a yellow card on a foul in the 18-yard Box.
Unfortunately, Matias Leaniz had his penalty kick denied by Sundin. But the Conquistadors kept the pressure at full strength sealing the fifth goal in the 89th minute by Luiz Martinez. Teammates Mantchoff and Francisco Dapoian recorded the assist to Martinez as the game ticked to an end.
FNU lead the way with 32 shots and 15 corner kicks. The Falcons ended the match with just two shots and no corner kicks.
Up Next: FNU now looks to take on NCAA DII Barry University on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m. in Miami Shores, Florida.
