MIAMI (November 8, 2016) – The FIU men's soccer team has seven players that have earned postseason All-Conference USA honors, the league office announced this afternoon. Sophomore forward
Santiago Patino and junior defender
Paul Marie were named to the All-C-USA first team, senior forward
Luis Betancur was tabbed a second team selection, and junior midfielder
Donald Tomlinson and senior defender
Juan Benedetty were named to the third team. In addition, defender
David Longo and forward
Joris Ahlinvi played their way onto the league's All-Freshman Team.
Complete Conference USA release
Patino, who has played in 14 of the team's 16 matches while getting the starting nod 12 times, was one of the hottest players in collegiate soccer at the beginning of the season. On the year, Patino leads the team in points scored with 16 (8g) and has recorded three multi-goal matches and four multi-point contests. He scored seven of his eight goals this year in the first six matches, and netted two goals against the College of Charleston (Aug. 28), and in back-to-back matches at North Florida (Sept. 9) and against No. 21 Kentucky (Sept. 17). He got back into the scoring column in the regular season finale against UAB (Nov. 5) with his third game-winner of the season. Patino comes into this week's Conference USA Tournament fifth in scoring and points-per-game and tied for second in goals scored.
Marie has posted three points through the end of the regular season on one goal and an assist in 13 matches, including 12 starts. He recorded his lone goal of the year against Florida Gulf Coast (Oct. 4), and his assist led to the game-winner in the Panthers' 1-0 win over C-USA rival Florida Atlantic. Despite just scoring three points, Marie has been extremely aggressive offensively, ranking second on the team in shots (23) and tied for fourth in shots on goal (7).
Betancur is the Panthers' lone repeat selection to the postseason All-Conference team from last year. Betancur has played in 12 of FIU's 16 matches this season, earning three starts. He is currently second on the team in scoring with nine points on four goals and an assist, and has recorded four multi-point outings on the year. He netted all four of his goals in the final seven matches of the regular season, including two goals in the final two contests of the regular season at Old Dominion (Oct. 29) and in the finale against UAB (Nov. 5).
Tomlinson has played and started in 14 of FIU's 16 matches this season and, despite not finding his way into the scoring column, has been a key figure in the defensive midfield for the Panthers this season. The defense, in which Tomlinson is a key piece, has produced five clean sheets on the year and just one goal six times.
As he has been for the past four seasons, Benedetty has been the heart and soul of the Panthers' defense this season. Offensively, Benedetty has scored six points in 16 matches on one goal and a team-leading four assists. His lone goal of the season proved to be the game winner against Old Dominion (Oct. 29).
Longo, like Benedetty, has been a key contributor on the defensive side of the ball getting thrown into the fire early, especially with the loss of preseason Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year Marvin Hetzel being sidelined the majority of the season with an injury. Longo played in 13 of FIU's 16 matches and found himself in the starting lineup 11 times.
Ahlinvi got a late start with the Panthers, but has made a major impact in the 12 matches he has played in this season, including nine starts. The French native, whose first match with FIU was against North Florida (Sept. 9), is tied for third in scoring with six points on three goals. Two of the three goals came in the final three matches of the regular season, including the game winner against in-state foe UCF (Oct. 25). In addition, he is second on the team in shots (24) and third in shots on goal (8).
The Panthers finished the Conference USA regular season in a tie for second place with South Carolina and earned the No. 3 seed in this week's C-USA Tournament, Nov. 9, 11 and 13. The Panthers will face the No. 6 seed UAB in the first round on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. in Huntington, West Virginia, at Marshall University's Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex.
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/.
