Miami (Nov. 15, 2017) – The No. 13 FIU men's soccer team (11-1-4) will face the Omaha Mavericks (10-5-3) in the first round of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championshipon Thursday, Nov. 16. First touch is slated for 7 p.m. from the FIU Soccer Stadium.
The at-large bid to the postseason event is the 11th Division I postseason appearance and the 19th all-time for the storied program. The Panthers' last appearance in the NCAA Championship was in 2015 after winning their first Conference USA Tournament title. That year FIU dropped a 3-2 decision in overtime at Tulsa.
The Panthers come into Thursday's match with the Mavericks boasting a 35-21-1 record all-time in the NCAA Championships, spanning both NCAA Division I and Division II, and a 21-15-1 mark in the Division I Championships. FIU won the 1982 and 1984 Division II National Championship and was runner-up in 1985. The Panthers also advanced to the Division I National Championship match in 1996.
The Panthers are in the midst of one of its best seasons in program – and school – history. FIU boasts an 11-1-4 record and finished 6-0-2 in Conference USA play winning the regular season championship for the first time. It was also the first time that the Panthers went through the season undefeated, finishing the regular season slate as one of only two teams in the country without a blemish in the loss column, joining No. 2 Indiana.
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Panthers and the Mavericks. Omaha advances to the NCAA Tournament after winning the Summit League Conference Championship.
On the year, junior forward
Santiago Patino (Orlando, Fla. / Freedom) leads the team in points scored (36) and total goals (16), as well as leading the nation in goals-per-game and points-per-game, while tying for third and fifth in total goals and points, respectively.
Redshirt-freshman
Alessandro Campoy (Port au Prince/Immaculate) is second on the team with 22 points scored (7g, 8a). He is also tied for 14th in the nation in assists-per-match and tied for 23rd in total assists. Two other Panthers have collected 10-or-more points this season, including senior
Paul Marie (Saint-Aubin-des-Bois, France) with 18 and sophomore
Joris Ahlinvi (Gujan-Mestras, France) with 14.
In 15 matches played, goalkeeper
Hugo Fauroux (Cannes, France) boasts a 10-1-4 record. He has tallied 52 saves and has a .732 save percentage on the year, and has recorded 3.5 shutouts.
The winner of Thursday's match will travel to Durham, North Carolina, to face Duke (12-4-2) on Sunday, Nov. 19.
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/.
