IRVING, Texas (November 7, 2017) – The No. 8 FIU men's soccer team (11-0-4, 6-0-2 C-USA) is well represented on the postseason All-Conference USA team with seven players earning honors, highlighted by junior forward
Santiago Patino (Orlando, Fla./Freedom) being named Offensive Player of the Year, Player of the Year and the C-USA Golden Boot Award recipient. In addition, first-year Head Coach
Kevin Nylen was tabbed the C-USA Coach of the Year.
Click here for complete Conference USA All-Conference release.
Patino, who was also named First-Team All-C-USA, is joined on the team by senior midfielder
Paul Marie (Saint-Aubin-des-Bois, France/5th Ursule) and sophomore midfielder
Joris Ahlinvi (Gujan-Mestras, France). Both Patino and Marie make a return appearance on the league's first team. Graduate student, and defender,
Marvin Hezel (Waldshut, Germany/SC Freiburg) was named to the second team, and junior goalkeeper
Hugo Fauroux (Cannes, France/Lycee Bristol/Lake Erie College) and senior midfielder
Donald Tomlinson (Hollywood, Fla./American Heritage) and was tabbed a third-team selection.
Redshirt freshman midfielder
Alessandro Campoy (Port au Prince, Haiti/Immaculate-LaSalle) and freshman midfielder
Matias Barraza (Miami, Fla./Doral Academy) were selected to the Conference USA All-Freshman team.
"I am very happy for all of the players and their recognition from the conference," said Nylen. We have been in good form up until now and hope to continue with our play in the conference tournament on Friday."
"This award that I am honored to receive is for everyone within the FIU soccer program," Nylen said. "The entire coaching staff deserves credit along with our support staff and most importantly the players."
Arguably one of the most efficient players in college soccer, Patino leads the nation in goals-per-game (1.00) and is tied for first in points-per-game (2.27), while tying for third and fourth in total goals (15) and points (34), respectively. He is putting up these offensive numbers while averaging just 3.36 shots-per-match, which is 29th in the nation. On the year he has had four multi-goal matches and a hat-trick with that coming against Marshall on Oct. 7 in a 4-0 win. Patino has been named C-USA Offensive Player of the Week five times. He leads the league in multiple offensive categories, including goals, goals-per-game, points and points-per-game. He is also tied for first in game-winning goals with three.
C-USA has tabbed Marie the Offensive Player of the Week twice this season. He is third on the year in points with 16 (6g, 4a), and ranks in the top-five in C-USA in multiple offensive categories, including points, goals, points-per-game (1.14), and goals-per-game (.429). Marie recorded multiple points in five matches, highlighted by a five-point outing (2g, 1a) on Oct. 14 against South Carolina in a 5-2 victory.
With 14 points scored (4g, 6a), Ahlinvi is the fourth Panther with 10-or-more points on the team. Ahlinvi is third in the conference in both assists and assists-per-game (.429). He has logged multiple points in five matches, including a three-point effort (1g, 1a) against North Florida on Sept. 26 in a 5-0 win.
Hezel has been a major factor in the Panthers' success on the defensive side of the field this season. A key defender, he has led FIU to four shutouts and an eight-game winning streak. During that streak, the Panthers allowed just eight goals and recorded three of their four shutouts. Also a threat offensively, Hezel has totaled seven points (3g, 1a) in 14 games, including 13 starts. He led FIU into overtime, scoring with only 25 seconds left in regulation during the 4-3 win at FGCU on Oct. 10, and gave FIU a 2-1 the lead with only nine minutes left when he scored during the 2-2 draw at Kentucky on Oct. 29.
In 14 matches played, Fauroux boasts a 10-0-4 record. He has tallied 49 saves and has a .754 save percentage on the year, and has recorded 3.5 shutouts. C-USA tabbed him Defensive Player of the Week after his debut weekend at the Wolstein Classic in Columbus, Ohio when he allowed just one goal.
Tomlinson has been one the leaders on this years team and a major key to the Panthers's success. Although he has just tallied three points, Tomlinson has been a work-horse for FIU playing eight complete matches, including 110 minutes against Charlotte on Sept. 23 in a 2-2 draw.
Campoy is second on the team with 22 points scored (7g, 8a). He is second in the conference in points and points-per-game (1.47), behind Patino, and third in goals and goals-per-game (.467). He also leads the conference in both assists and assists-per-game (.533). Campoy is also ranked 11
th in the nation in total assists. The native of Haiti, Campoy has posted six multiple-point matches, including four-point outings against Ohio State (2g) on Aug. 27 and North Florida (1g, 2a) on Sept. 26.
Barraza has totaled seven points on the year on three goals and an assist. His last goal came during the 4-0 shutout over No. 24 New Mexico.
Nylen – and the rest of his staff – has FIU in the midst of one of the best seasons in the program's storied history, with the Panthers' 11-0-4 slate marking the first time team has gone undefeated during the regular season.
FIU has earned the top seed in the 2017 Conference USA Men's Soccer Championship and will receive the first-round bye after claiming its first C-USA regular-season title. This year's championship will be hosted by No. 2 seed Old Dominion, Nov. 8-12, at the ODU Soccer Complex in Norfolk, Virginia.
The Panthers will face the winner of the tournament's first quarterfinal match between the four seed Charlotte and the five seed New Mexico, on Friday at 4:30 p.m.
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/.
