Miami (Nov. 18, 2017) – The No. 13 FIU men's soccer team (12-1-4) will face the No. 14 Duke Blue Devils (12-4-2) in the second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship on Sunday, Nov. 19. First touch is slated for 6 p.m. from Koskinen Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
FIU's at-large bid to the NCAA Championship is the 11th Division I postseason appearance and the 19th all-time for the storied program. The Panthers' last appeared in a second round in the NCAA Tournament in 2003 when they tied, 1-1, with CSU Northridge and advanced to the third round on penalty kicks.
After defeating the Omaha Mavericks on Thursday, Nov. 16, FIU improves its all-tine NCAA Championship record to 36-21-1, in both NCAA Division I and Division II, and a 22-15-1 mark in Division I. 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 12-1-4 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.
The Panthers trail in the short series against the Blue Devils,1-0. FIU last faced Duke in 1994 when they dropped a 2-1 decision in overtime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
On the year, junior forward
Santiago Patino (Orlando, Fla. / Freedom) leads the team in points scored (36) and total goals (16), as well as tied for first in the nation in goals-per-game, while ranking third in points-per-game and total goals, and fifth in total points.
Redshirt-freshman
Alessandro Campoy (Port au Prince/Immaculate) is second on the team with 22 points scored (7g, 8a). He is also tied for 23rd in the nation in total assists. Two other Panthers have collected 10-or-more points this season, including senior
Paul Marie (Saint-Aubin-des-Bois, France) with 20 and sophomore
Joris Ahlinvi (Gujan-Mestras, France) with 14.
In 16 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 four shutouts.
The winner of Sunday's match will play the winner of the No. 8 Virginia and Fordham match, in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
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/.
