MIAMI (July 6, 2023) – The FIU men's soccer team announced its 2023 schedule on Thursday, as the Panthers look to defend their American Athletic Conference Championships.
 
For the complete 2023 schedule Click Here.
 
"The 2023 schedule is an exciting one," said Russell. "It is loaded with in-state rivals, conference rivals and NCAA Tournament teams. We wanted a top-tier schedule that would, test, sharpen and prepare us to beat anyone in the country."
 
Head Coach Kyle Russell led the Panthers to one of its most successful season's in program history, going 14-5-1, the most wins since 2003, and a 6-2-1 conference record. 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. The Panthers were the No. 10 seed in the tournament, earning an automatic first round bye and defeated New Hampshire in the second round.
 
"We don't want anything easy," added Russell. "The schedule that we put together for 2023 show just how big our ambitions are for this program."
 
BY THE NUMBERS
- 12 matches against RPI Top 100 teams
- 4 matches against RPI Top 25 teams
- 7 matches against 2022 NCAA Tournament teams
 
The Panthers will face off against four teams that ended 2022 in the Top 25 (New Hampshire, SMU, Tulsa, Akron) and three others that featured in the Top 25 at some point in 2022 (Charlotte, Memphis, Tulsa).
 
FIU is set to take on seven teams that made the 2022 NCAA Tournament (Oregon St., New Hampshire, North Carolina, Memphis, USF, SMU, Tulsa, Akron) with four in The American.
 
The Panthers will play eight games at FIU Soccer Stadium where they went 9-2 and hosted, and won, the American Athletic Conference tournament championship.
 
THE SCHEDULE
The Panthers open the 2023 campaign on the west coast against Oregon State, a team that finished 15th in RPI, then return home for a two-match home stand against VCU (Aug. 28) and Central Arkansas (Sept. 1).
 
The non-conference schedule opens with clashes against RPI Top 15 teams New Hampshire (9/8) at home and Akron (9/11) on the road.
 
The American schedule opens at FIU Soccer Stadium on October 16 against Temple. The Panthers will also host USF, SMU and Charlotte in conference action.
 
The American Championship tournament will take place from Nov. 5-12, with six teams entering the playoff field and the top two seeds receiving a first-round bye. First round matchups will be hosted at on-campus sites of the higher seed on Nov. 6, while both the Semifinals and Finals will take place at the No. 1 seed's campus.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Instagram (@FIUMSoccer), Twitter (@FIUMensSoccer), and Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUMensSoccer) for all the latest Women's Soccer news.
 
General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.