FINAL SCORE
Monmouth 45 (2-2)
FIU 42 (1-3)

MIAMI — Deuce Lee forced a fumble and recovered the loose ball on the goal line with less than a minute remaining to seal Monmouth's thrilling 45-42 victory over FIU on Saturday night at Pitbull Stadium.

Michael Calton Jr. drilled a 43-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining to put the Hawks ahead for good as Monmouth secured its first victory over a FBS program in program history. The back-and-forth contest featured explosive offense on both sides, with Monmouth (2-2, 1-0 CAA) improving to .500 on the season, while FIU (1-3) suffered its second consecutive loss.

Monmouth's offense was led by a powerful rushing attack and clutch quarterback play from Derek Robertson, who threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Sone Ntoh was a force on the ground, scoring three touchdowns and rushing for 53 yards, while Rodney Nelson contributed a game-changing 59-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, helping the Hawks tie the game at 35-35.

FIU took an early lead when Travion Barnes returned an interception 85 yards for a touchdown, putting the Panthers up 7-0 in the first quarter. FIU quarterback Keyone Jenkins added to the lead with a deflected 1-yard touchdown pass to Dean Patterson, and a second-quarter 42-yard touchdown pass to JuJu Lewis. Jenkins finished with 362 passing yards and two touchdowns in the loss. 

Monmouth responded, cutting into the early deficit with Ntoh's 30-yard rushing touchdown late in the first quarter on a fourth and inches play. Robertson connected with TJ Speight and Gavin Nelson for short touchdown passes, and Ntoh added his second rushing score in the second quarter to keep Monmouth within striking distance.

Despite FIU's offensive performance, Monmouth's defense created two key turnovers, including the game-saving fumble recovery by Lee and Alex Odom's forced fumble with five minutes to play.

NOTES AND QUOTES
"Just an awesome, awesome win. First and foremost I am so happy for the players on our team; they really believed and knew we were going to have to play a full 60 minutes and it went right down to the last 30 seconds before we pulled it out. There were some times where maybe it didn't look like we were going to come away with the win as they were driving at the end of the game and we were able to strip the ball at the one-yard line and get it back. It just shows there's no quit in this team, they are going to play the entire game until there are zeros on the clock and we got a great result tonight."
Head Coach Kevin Callahan

Monmouth earned its first-ever victory against a FBS opponent.
The Hawks won their second consecutive road game.
Monmouth improved to 2-1 all-time in the state of Florida.
Charlie Sasso and Joe Loiseau made their season debuts for the Hawks. 

NUMBERS CRUNCH
The Hawks have scored 42 or more points in their last six wins. 
Monmouth racked up 540 yards of total offense in the win.
Rodney Nelson ran for a career-best 117 yards and it was the most for a Monmouth back this season. 
Nelson also had a career-long 59-yard touchdown run.
Derek Robertson threw for 361 yards, marking his fourth 350-plus yard performance of the season.
Josh Derry led Monmouth in receiving for the second game in a row with 107 yards on seven receptions.
Sone Ntoh scored three times and has seven rushing touchdowns on the season and 21 rushing scores in 15 career games.
Gavin Nelson had five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown.
TJ Speight made five grabs for 38 yards and a touchdown.
Deuce Lee led Monmouth with eight tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Alex Odom had six tackles and a forced fumble.
Remi Johnson recovered a fumble and made three stops.
Michael Calton Jr. kicked a game-winning 43-yard field goal and made all six of his extra point attempts

UP NEXT
Monmouth returns home to Kessler Stadium for the first of four straight home games next Saturday. The Hawks host Fordham at 1 p.m. in their final non-conference game of the season.