MIAMI (August 11, 2017) – The FIU men's soccer team placed three players on the All-Conference USA Preseason Team, as announced by the league office on Friday. Headlining the trio is junior forward
Santiago Patino (Orlando, Fla./Freedom) who was tabbed the C-USA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Joining Patino on the preseason team is senior defender
Paul Marie (Saint Aubindes Bois, France/5th Ursule/Newberry College) and sophomore midfielder
Joris Ahlinvi (Gujan-Mestras, France/Esarc Evolution).
In addition, the Panthers have been voted by the league's head coaches to finish third in this year's preseason coaches poll, behind Charlotte and New Mexico, respectively. FIU received two first place votes.
Click here for the complete coaches poll and release.
Patino, who was a National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-Southeast Region Team selection in 2016, played in 17 of the team's 19 matches, while getting the starting nod 12 times, and was one of the hottest players in collegiate soccer at the beginning of the season. On the year, Patino led the team in points scored with 17 (8g, 1a) and recorded three multi-goal matches and four multi-point contests. He scored seven of his eight goals on the 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 finished the year tied for third in Conference USA in goals scored and sixth in points.
For his efforts, Patino was also named to the C-USA All-Conference First Team.
Marie, who joined Patino on the (NSCAA) All-Southeast Region Team following last season, recorded seven points on the year (3g, 1a), which was good enough for fourth on the team, while starting 15 of the 16 games in which he appeared. He recorded his first 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. Marie scored the Panthers' two goals in a 2-0 win over Old Dominion (Nov. 11) in the C-USA semifinals. Despite scoring just seven points, Marie was extremely aggressive offensively, ranking third on the team in shots (30) and tied for fourth in shots on goal (11).
Like Patino, Marie was also named to the Conference USA All-Conference First team at the conclusion of the season.
Ahlinvi got a late start with the Panthers in 2016, but made a major impact in the 15 matches he played in, including 12 starts. The French native, whose first match with FIU was against North Florida (Sept. 9), finished tied for second in scoring with 10 points on five goals. In addition, he finished second on the team in both shots (34) and shots on goal (16).
Ahlinvi was named to the C-USA All-Tournament Team, as well as the C-USA All-Freshman Team.
The Panthers, who finished 2016 with a 10-7-2 record and advanced to their second-straight C-USA Tournament championship game, will open up their 2017 campaign on August 25-26 at the 12th annual Bert & Iris Wolstein Classic hosted by Ohio State University. The Panthers will open up on Friday against James Madison before closing out the event on Sunday against the host Buckeyes.
FIU will begin its home schedule on Sept. 1 with the first of three-straight matches at the FIU Soccer Stadium. The Panthers will take the pitch against New Jersey Institute of Technology before facing the College of Charleston (Sept. 3) and Old Dominion (Sept. 8) in the C-USA lid-lifter for both schools.
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/.
