MIAMI (November 9, 2017) – The No. 1-seeded FIU men's soccer team will face No. 4 seed Charlotte in this year's semifinal round of the Conference USA Tournament on Friday, Nov. 10 at the ODU Soccer Complex in Norfolk, Virginia. First touch is set for 4:30 p.m. The Panthers, currently ranked No. 8 in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll, received the first-round bye after claiming its first C-USA regular-season title. FIU finished the regular season with an 11-0-4 record and a 6-0-2 slate in league play. Charlotte is now 7-4-6 overall, after defeating New Mexico, 1-0, in the quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament on Wednesday.
2017 C-USA Men's Soccer Championship Bracket
C-USA Men's Soccer Championship Central
Watch FIU and Charlotte Live
FIU comes into the tournament with a 15-match unbeaten streak, the longest since 1991 when the Panthers went 18-straight without a loss. FIU is currently third in the nation in win-loss-tie percentage (.867) and joins No. 2 Indiana (14-0-4) as the only two teams without a blemish in the loss column. The Panthers currently lead the nation in scoring offense with 3.07 goals-per-match.
FIU last faced the 49ers on Sept. 23, when it played Charlotte to a 2-2 draw into double-overtime. The Panthers, who took the lead just 43 seconds into the match on a goal by
Matias Barraza (Miami, Fla./Doral Academy), allowed the 49ers to score two unanswered goals to take a 2-1 lead, with the second coming in the 56th-minute.
Santiago Patino (Orlando, Florida/Freedom) didn't waste any time getting the equalizer, doing so in the 58th-minute.
Earlier this week Patino was named Offensive Player of the Year, Player of the Year, the C-USA Golden Boot Award recipient, and was named to the First-Team All-C-USA. He leads the team in points scored (34) and total goals (35), and leads the conference in multiple offensive categories, including goals, goals-per-game (1.00), points and points-per-game (2.27). Patino also leads the nation in goals-per-game and is tied for first in points-per-game, while tying for third and fourth in total goals and point, respectively.
Named to the C-USA All-Freshman team,
Alessandro Campoy (Port au Prince/Immaculate) is second on the team with 22 points scored (7g, 8a). He is second in the conference in points and points-per-game (1.47), behind Patino, and third in goals and goals-per-game (.467). He also leads the conference in both assists and assists-per-game (.533). Campoy is also ranked 11th 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) and sophomore
Joris Ahlinvi (Gujan-Mestras, France). Both were named First-Team All-C-USA and rank in the top-five in the league in multiple offensive categories.
In 14 matches played, goalkeeper
Hugo Fauroux (Cannes, France) boasts a 10-0-4 record. He has tallied 49 saves and has a .754 save percentage on the year, and has recorded 3.5 shutouts. He was tabbed a third-team selection.
Charlotte comes into Friday's semifinal led by redshirt-junior Daniel Bruce who has produced 16 points (6g, 4a) on the year. He is the only 49ers player with more than 10 points on the year. Trailing Bruce are four other players with five-or-more points – Teddy Chaouche (9), Callum Montgomery (8), Tommy Madden (7), and Ryan Spaulding (5).
The winner of Friday's semifinal match between FIU and Charlotte will play the winner of the No. 2 seed Old Dominion and No. 6 seed Marchall on Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. The title match can be seen live on ESPN3.
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/.
