MIAMI (March 2, 2020) - The Kyle Russell era officially began on Monday morning, as the FIU men's soccer team took to the pitch for the squad's first day of training.

Russell takes over the reins after spending the past 10 seasons as a member of the Coastal Carolina men's soccer coaching staff, most recently serving as Associate Head Coach of the Chanticleers.

The Panthers hit the practice field on a cool and breezy Miami morning for a lively 90-minute session of training, as Russell began to set the tone for a new era of FIU soccer while gaining a first impression of the talent within the program.

Russell had high praise for the roster currently in place and spoke admirably of the mindset shared by the Panthers.

"I'm excited to work with these guys," Russell said. "Day one was extremely positive. We've got a lot of good guys and a lot of good tools. They want to be better. They want to learn. They understand that they have a responsibility to represent FIU in a positive manner. So for me, I'll work with guys like that all day, every day."

FIU is fresh off a fantastic 2019 campaign in which they started the season undefeated through the first 14 games while sitting top-10 in the country for several offensive categories and earning a national ranking as high as No. 11.

"These guys want to be a top-10 team in the country," said Russell. "They want to be in the NCAA Tournament every single year. We want to achieve things that have been set in precedence a long time ago, and we want to bring FIU back to the forefront."

Armed with a talented group of young Panthers who are hungry for more, Russell aims to guide FIU over the hump in order to satisfy a winning appetite and reestablish the Blue & Gold as one of the nation's top soccer programs.

And if the energy of Russell's first training session with his new team is any indication of what lies ahead, the Panthers have much to be excited about.

"It's been a day where you don't really want it to end because of how much you've enjoyed it," Russell said. "I'm looking forward to day two."

The Panthers will continue training in the weeks ahead and are scheduled to play a series of preseason exhibition games during the spring as they continue preparation for the upcoming 2020 season.

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