MIAMI (June 16, 2016) – Coming off its ninth NCAA Division I Tournament appearance, after winning its first Conference USA Tournament title last fall, FIU Head Men's Soccer Coach Scott Calabrese announced the Panthers' 2016 schedule today. This year's slate will certainly prepare the Panthers for the postseason. Six of FIU's foes on this year's regular season schedule – Furman, North Florida, and Wake Forest, and Conference USA (C-USA) foes Kentucky, Charlotte, and South Carolina – advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2015, with the Demon Deacons earning the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and advancing to the NCAA quarterfinals.

"Again, we will look to test ourselves against some of college soccer's top teams with the idea of building on a successful 2015 campaign," said Calabrese. "I believe that C-USA will be even stronger next season. Last season it (C-USA) featured six Top 25 teams with four teams playing in the NCAA tournament. We are looking forward to the challenge of the 2016 season."

The Panthers will kick off the 2016 campaign with consecutive exhibition matches, with in-state foes USF on Aug. 15 in Tampa, and at home against Palm Beach Atlantic on Aug. 19.

FIU opens the regular season with three of its first five games on the road, starting at the Nike/Aaron Olitsky Memorial Soccer Classic in Charleston, South Carolina, where the Panthers will face Furman on Aug, 26 and the host College of Charleston on Aug. 28. FIU returns home to the FIU Soccer Stadium for back-to-back games with Wisconsin on Sept. 2 and then Niagara on Sept. 4. The Panthers close out the five-match stretch on Sept. 9 when they head to Jacksonville to take on 2015 Atlantic Sun Champion North Florida.

FIU begins Conference USA play on Sept. 20, versus Kentucky, before heading back out on the road for three-straight. The Panthers will begin the three-match stretch in Winston Salem, North Carolina, against perennial national soccer power Wake Forest on Sept. 20, and then will butt heads with Charlotte on Sept. 24. Then, on Sept. 30, FIU will travel to the Southwest to take the pitch against New Mexico in Albuquerque. The Panthers then face Florida Gulf Coast on Oct. 4 in Miami.

Whereas FIU opened the season with three-of-four matches on the road, the Panthers will close the regular season with three-out-of-five in the friendly confides of the FIU Soccer Stadium. The Panthers will welcome in the Gamecocks of South Carolina on Oct. 8, and then face Marshall on Oct. 15 in Huntington, West Virginia. After back-to-back homes matches with C-USA rival FAU on Oct. 21, and then its final non-conference match of the season against UCF on Oct. 25, FIU will make its way to the Commonwealth State to take on Old Dominion on Oct. 29 in Norfolk, Virginia.

FIU closes out its regular-season schedule on Nov. 5, at home, against UAB.

This year's Conference USA Tournament will take place Nov. 9-13 in Huntington, West Virginia.

Last season, 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.
 
The Panthers finished the year ranked as the conference's top scoring offense with 41 goals, 36 assists for 118 points. FIU ranked 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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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 Lime Court at 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/.