MIAMI (Oct. 10, 2014) – The FIU men's soccer team (3-6-1, 0-3-0) returns to the pitch for a key Conference USA dual with the Charlotte 49ers on Saturday night. First touch is slated for 7 p.m. from Transamerica Field in Charlotte, N.C.

Coverage
Friday vs. Charlotte 49ers – 7:00 p.m.
Venue: Transamerica Field (4,000) – Charlotte, N.C.
Follow on Twitter: @FIUMensSoccer
LiveStats: Click Here
Stream: Click Here

Last Time Out
FIU dropped a heartbreaker to the South Carolina Gamecocks in a 5-4 loss on Wednesday night. With three seconds remaining in regulation, South Carolina's Ryan Arambula scored to give the Gamecocks the victory.    
                                     
Scouting Charlotte
The 49ers enter Friday's contest with a 9-1-0 overall record and a 2-0-0 mark in C-USA play.  Charlotte comes in first in points, goals, and assists in the league. Three of their players, Kyle Parker, Dominic Bonilla, and Bernadt Bronico, rank in the top five for points in the conference. Kyle Parker is tied for first in goals and Monbo Bokar is tied for fifth. Following his game-winning goal against Clemson, which extended the 49ers' win-streak to eight games, Mates Dekovic was awarded the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week by the conference.

First Win Over a Ranked Opponent in Three Years
FIU downed No. 19 Michigan, 1-0, on Aug. 29. The win over the Wolverines gave FIU its first win over a ranked opponent since Oct. 2, 2011 vs. No. 21 Kentucky, 1-0.
 
New Man in Charge
Head Coach Scott Calabrese comes to FIU after a successful six-year stint as head coach at East Tennessee State. A program that began play in 2008, Calabrese led ETSU to two Atlantic Sun Tournament Championships (2010, 2013), a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, and four consecutive seasons of 10-or-more wins (2010-13). This past season, the Buccaneers were crowned 2013 Atlantic Sun Champions after earning a 3-1 victory over North Florida in the A-Sun Tournament Championship.
 
Panthers Return Nearly 82 Percent of 2013 Scoring
In total, FIU scored 27 goals last season. Of those goals that were scored last year, 22 of those goals are from players that are returning to this year's squad (81.5 percent). That ranks 10th in the country.
 
1.    SIU Edwardsville – 100.0 (14/14)
2.    Evansville – 97.1 (33/34)
3.    Syracuse – 96.7 (29/30)
4.    North Carolina – 89.5 (17/19)
5.    Missouri State – 88.2 (15/17)
6.    Virginia – 86.6 (39/45)
       Buffalo – 86.6 (13/15)
8.    NJIT – 84.0 (21/25)
       Duke – 84.0 (21/25)
10.  FIU – 81.5 (22/27)
 
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 seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including 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 offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoralprograms in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 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 ofConference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.