MIAMI (September 17, 2016) – The FIU men's soccer team knew coming into Saturday's Conference USA opener against No. 21 Kentucky that it was going to be the beginning of a very tough and important stretch to its season. The meeting with the Wildcats was the beginning of four-straight matches against teams that are ranked or receiving votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25 poll this week, including the next three-consecutive contests on the road.

Well, the Panthers rose to the occasion and displayed the sense of urgency that would be expected from a team beginning their C-USA title defense, defeating Kentucky 2-1 in a spirited match that should have been expected at the FIU Soccer Stadium. After all, these two teams met in the 2015 C-USA Tournament semifinals with the Panthers coming out on top, 1-0, en route to their first Conference USA title.

Santiago Patino got the Panthers off to a fast start with his sixth goal of the season – all coming in the last five games – off a corner kick by Donald Tomlinson in the fifth minute. Tomlinson served the ball into the 18, on the far post, and Patino took advantage of the opportunity putting the ball in the back of the net.

It wouldn't take long for Patino to net his second goal of the match, his seventh of the season and his third multi-goal match of the season on a spectacular set piece in the 12^th minute of play. From 22 yards out, Brad Fountain crossed the ball from left-to-right and bending it towards the back post of the goal to a streaking Patino. Patino went high above the UK defenders and headed the ball across Kentucky goalkeeper Stuart Ford's body and into the goal to give the Panthers a 2-0 lead.

After Fountain recorded a shot in the 26^th minute, Patino made a bid for a hat trick just three minutes later with a breakaway chance from five yards out only to have Ford finally deny the sophomore forward with an impressive sliding kick save.

Jordan Wilson finally got the Wildcats' first quality chance of the night, taking a deflection in the 18 and firing a shot from 10 yards out only to have FIU keeper Arthur Clapot stop the opportunity.

The Panthers entered the intermission with a 7-2 shots advantage through the first 45 minutes of play.

Kentucky finally got on the board in the opening minutes of the second half. Connor Probert served up a pass for Andrew McKelvey, in the box, only to have McKelvey take the pass off a deflection by an FIU defender and beat Clapot in the 48^th minute to cut the Panthers' lead to 2-1.

After the Wildcats' goal, neither team could create many opportunities until Ismael Longo crossed the bail into the box for Marvin Hezel who headed the offering just over the Kentucky cross bar in the 68^th minute. That would be FIU's first quality chance of the second stanza.

Both Ford and Clapot took center stage during the final 13 minutes of the match making what were spectacular game-altering saves.

In the 77^th minute, the Panthers' Joris Ahlinvi, playing in just his second collegiate match, had what looked like to be a wide open chance from six yards out. Ahlinvi took a pass and fired off a hard line drive headed for the low near post, however Ford had other ideas with a diving stretch to make a highlight-reel save and deny the Panthers a two-goal advantage.

Ford's save kept the Wildcats in the match and proved to be crucial when FIU was called for a hand ball in the box, leading to a penalty kick in the 79^th minute of play. Probert spotted the ball up and, after a hesitation, drove the ball which seemingly had Clapot beat on the low right post. Clapot, however, made the stop of the match with a diving punch save to preserve the Panthers' lead and secure the victory as neither side threatened the remainder of the way.

FIU finished the match with a commanding 15-6 shots advantage, including an 8-3 mark in shots on goal. Kentucky led in corker kicks, 3-2.

Clapot finished the night with two saves on the night, while the Wildcats' Ford had six.

FIU will now travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to take on No. 12 Wake Forest (7 p.m.) on Sept. 20 and then to Charlotte to face the No. 9 ranked 49ers on Sept. 24 (7 p.m.). The Panthers will close out the three-match road trip at New Mexico on Sept. 30 (9 p.m. ET) against the Lobos, who are also receiving votes in this week's NSCAA poll.

FIU will not return home until Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. when it faces cross-state rival Florida Gulf Coast University at the FIU Soccer Stadium.

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/.