MIAMI (October 30, 2017) – With the FIU men's soccer program in the midst of one of its best seasons in school history, the Panthers won the Conference USA regular season title on Sunday and earned the league's No. 1 seed in the upcoming C-USA Tournament at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, Virginia, Nov. 8, 10, 12. FIU, who is 11-0-4 on the year and finished league play 6-0-2, earned the top spot by virtue of ODU losing to South Carolina, 3-2 on Saturday. The Panthers closed out the regular-season with a hard-fought 2-2 draw at Kentucky. FIU will get a well-deserved rest as the remainder of the league finishes their regular season schedule this week. The official C-USA Tournament bracket will be announced on Saturday night.
"It's been a great regular season for the team," said FIU men's soccer Head Coach
Kevin Nylen. "Regular season conference champions while going undefeated, the players deserve it. They have been great thus far and we now shift our focus to the conference tournament."
Santiago Patino (Orlando, Fla./Freedom) leads C-USA in multiple offensive categories, including goals (15), goals-per-game (1.00), points (34) and points-per-game (2.27). He is also tied for first in game-winning goals with three.
Arguably one of the most efficient players in college soccer, he leads the nation in goals-per-game and points-per-game, while tying for second and third in total goals and points, respectively. He is putting up these offensive numbers while averaging just 3.36 shots-per-match, which is 28th in the nation.
Alessandro Campoy (Port au Prince, Haiti/Immaculata-LaSalle) trails with 22 points (7g, 8a) after putting up four points (1g, 2a) last week. Campoy is ranked in the top-three in six C-USA offensive categories, including first in assists and assists-per-game (.533). He also ranks nationally in the top-15 in total assists and assists-per-game, and ranks 28th in points-per-game.
Paul Marie (Saint-Aubin-des-Bois, France/5th Ursule) has also been a threat offensively with 16 points (6g, 4a) on the year. Marie ranks in the top-five in four C-USA offensive categories, including points, points-per-game (1.14), goals, and goals-per-game (.467).
As a team, the Panthers boast an impressive 11-0-4 record on the season and a 6-0-2 record in Conference USA play. The 15-match unbeaten streak is the longest since 1991 when the Panthers went 18-straight without a loss.
The only undefeated team in the league, FIU is also one of just two teams in the country without a loss. The Panthers lead the nation in scoring offense with 3.07 goals-per-game, and are currently third in win-loss-tie percentage (.893).
The Panthers are ranked No. 8 and No. 11 by College Soccer News and TopDrawerSoccer.com, respectively. FIU also received a No. 8 ranking by United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 13 ranking by Soccer America poll last week; those rankings will be updated Tuesday, Oct. 31.
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 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/.
