MIAMI (Dec. 2, 2022) – FIU men's soccer head coach Kyle Russell and his assistants Dannie Merida, Lucas Champenois and Nicholas Itopoulos have been named the United Soccer Coaches NCAA D-I East Region Staff of the Year, announced the organization on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Russell led the Panthers to a 14-5-1 overall record, the most wins since 2003.
 
FIU won The American regular season and postseason tournament championships in the program's first season in the conference.
 
The Panthers also made their 12th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, making it to the third round for the third time.
 
This marks Russell and his staff's second award this season after being named The American Coaching Staff of the Year. Russell was also named the C-USA Coach of the Year last season after leading FIU to a conference regular season championship.
 
In three seasons with FIU, Russell has amassed a record of 30-13-4 and has won a conference championship and made the NCAA Tournament in his first two full seasons at the helm, after the 2020 season was cut short due to the pandemic.

Russell and his staff are now on the ballot for the United Soccer Coaches National Staff of the Year award.
 
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