MIAMI (October 24, 2017) – With the FIU men's soccer team in the midst of one of the most successful seasons in the programs history, the team continues to be recognized on a national level on a fairly regular basis.
The Panthers, who come into Wednesday's regular season home finale against Old Dominion boasting a 10-0-3 overall record, along with a 5-0-1 record in Conference USA, and have been regulars in all four of college soccer's major polls for the past four weeks, found out on Tuesday morning that they cracked the top 10 with a No. 8 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches top 25 poll.
The No. 8 ranking for FIU is its highest since the 1996 FIU team finished No. 2 in the nation after losing the national championship match to St. John's.
In addition, the Panthers are currently still just one of two teams in Division I men's college soccer that remain unbeaten, joining No. 2 Indiana (13-0-3).
Individually,
Joris Ahlinvi (Gujan-Mestras, France) was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week, for the week ending Oct. 22, after helping the Panthers to a 2-0 record with wins over in-state foe USF (2-1) on Oct. 17 and against No. 24 New Mexico (4-0) on Oct. 21. The sophomore struck twice in both matches last week, including the winner from the penalty spot as FIU cruised past the Lobos in a key Conference USA contest. He also tallied the opening goal in the victory over the Bulls in Tampa.
Ahlinvi's honor came just one day after senior captain
Paul Marie (Saint-Aubin-des-Bois, France) was tabbed the Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week.
Following Wednesday's match against the Monarchs at FIU Soccer Stadium, the Panthers close out the regular season on Sunday, Oct. 29 at Kentucky. First touch is slated for 7 p.m.
The Conference USA Tournament will take place Nov. 8, 10, 12 in Norfolk, Virginia at the ODU 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).
#####
About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in eight different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including Riccardo Silva 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/.
