KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Dec. 10, 2015) – FIU's Kevin Nylen has been recognized by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) as its 2015 Glenn "Mooch" Myernick Assistant Coach of the Year for the southeast region the organization announced on Thursday.

"Kevin is an exceptional coach but more importantly he is an exceptional person," Head Coach Scott Calabrese said. " He makes an impact in the lives of the student-athletes on our team every day and has worked tirelessly over the last four years to help to elevate our program back into the national spotlight.  It's a well-deserved award and great to see him receive recognition from his peers in this way."
 
The award is named for Glenn "Mooch" Myernick, former Hartwick College and US National Team assistant coach and is designed to highlight outstanding assistant coaches in the college game. It is awarded to one national winner and eight regional winners for both men's and women's programs each year.
 
Nylen, a native Ipswich, Mass., wrapped up his fourth season with the Panthers and second with Coach Calabrese, helping FIU to its most-successful season in over a decade. During the 2015 campaign, the Panthers garnered three NSCAA All-Southeast Region honors, had five student-athletes earn All-Conference USA recognition with two being named to the C-USA All-Academic Team.
 
FIU (12-7-1) finished the season with its best record in over 11 years. The Panthers claimed the 2015 C-USA title, earning the team's first NCAA appearance since 2004. Following the team's historic run in the C-USA Tournament, FIU moved into the top 25 in the NSCAA's final regular season poll at No. 16, announced back on Nov. 17. Earlier this season, FIU cracked the top 25, earning a ranking as high as No. 14.
 
The Panthers finished the year ranked as the conference's top scoring offense with 41 goals, 36 assists for 118 points. FIU ranks No. 14 in the nation in goals, No. 21 in the nation in assists and No. 18 in the nation in total points. Averaging 5.90 points-per-game (No. 10 in the nation), FIU notched two-or-more goals in 13 of the team's 20 matches this season.
 
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Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Twitter (@FIUMensSoccer) and become a fan on Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUMensSoccer) for all the latest Men's Soccer news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).
 
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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.
 
About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offer more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $8.9 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.