CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Fourth-seeded FIU defeated host and No. 1 seed Charlotte 11-10 in a penalty shootout on Wednesday night to advance to the American Men’s Soccer Championship final.
Neither team could break the deadlock through 110 minutes of regulation and extra time, culminating in a 0-0 tie. The Panthers' goalkeeper, Nigel Van Haveren, was instrumental in keeping the match level, recording six saves against a persistent Charlotte attack that tallied 19 total shots. Charlotte’s Leo Stritter made two saves on 13 shots faced.
The suspense intensified in the penalty-kick tiebreaker, which saw an extraordinary 23 shots taken before FIU secured the 11-10 advantage off the foot of Eduardo Mustre.