MIAMI (Nov. 16, 2015) – The FIU men's soccer team (12-6-1) will face the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (7-6-6) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 19. First touch is slated for 8 p.m. ET from the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium.
FIU, returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2004, shut out Marshall in the Conference USA title game to earn the league's automatic bid. Tulsa claimed the American Athletic Conference (AAC) crown, knocking off UConn 4-3 on PKs.
This will mark FIU's 17
th appearance in the NCAA Tournament with the Panthers owning a 20-14-1 mark in the national tournament.
The Panthers are led by Co-C-USA Coach of the Year
Scott Calabrese, who has guided FIU to its best record in over 11 years. The top scoring offense in C-USA, FIU is averaging 2.05 goals-per-game (No. 15 in the nation). In the team's second season under Calabrese, FIU finished the regular season with a record over .500 for the first time since 2005. Earning the No. 5 seed in this year's C-USA tournament, the Panthers returned to the league's post-season tournament for the first time since 2007. Earlier this season, FIU cracked the top 25, earning a ranking as high as No. 14. The Panthers knocked off No. 9 Old Dominion (2-1 on 10/17) and defeated No. 22 Florida Gulf Coast (2-1 on 10/20) in Ft. Myers, Fla.
FIU had five all-conference selections in 2015. Junior
Marvin Hezel was named First-Team All-C-USA, while senior
Daniel Gonzalez, junior
Ismael Longo and junior
Luis Betancur each earned second-team recognition. Steffen Böhm was a unanimous decision for C-USA All-Freshman Team honors.
Offensively, FIU has five players with 10-or-more points, including Gonzalez, who has recorded a team-leading 18 (7g, 4a). Gonzalez was named the C-USA Tournament Offensive MVP after registering two game-winning goals and assisting on the game-winner in the championship match. Defensively, the Panthers are led by
Arthur Clapot, who enters Thursday's opening round match with a 0.98 goals against average, with four shutouts and an 8-3-1 record. Clapot was named the C-USA Tournament Defensive MVP after tallying back-to-back clean sheets in both the semifinals and the finals.
Thursday will mark the 12
th meeting all-time between FIU and Tulsa with the Golden Hurricane holding a 10-0-1 edge in the series history. The two squads last squared off during the 2013 season both as members of C-USA with Tulsa winning, 2-0 (Nov. 3).
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 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/.
