Michael Ortega/ Contributing Writer
Photo by Jonathan Segal
“This team is looking for national recognition,” said Coach Thomas Chestnutt. “We have been top 10 in the region for the last three years.”
They will complete a brief three game home stand against Morehead State on Aug 26.The Eagles finished last year with a record of 11-8-3 last season.
“This home stand will let us start strong to go on the road strong,” said Chestnutt.
The next seven out of eight games will be on the road where they will face teams like Florida Gulf Coast, Florida, and LSU.
“I know the away game(s) will be rough,” said Nicole DiPerna midfielder/forward. “I don’t think it’s anything we can’t handle.”
The Panthers will first face Florida Gulf Coast on Aug. 31, who also qualified for the NCAA tournament last season.
Then the Panthers will take on the two toughest teams on their schedule. First will be Florida on Sept. 2 and LSU on Sept. 7. Florida comes in ranked number 11 and LSU ranked in the top 50 teams in the nation.
“For the team to achieve its goal, to be nationally ranked we will need to win these games against big opponents like them,” said Chestnutt.
The team returns back to FIU for a matchup against the University of Idaho on Sept. 9. This will be the first time Idaho will travel to Miami to face the Panthers.
The next stop for the Panthers will be the Cats Classic where they will face Arizona and Arizona State, both teams are members of the Pac-12. This will be the first time the Panthers have ever faced either team.
The team starts its conference play after the Cats Classic where they will play the first two games on the road against South Alabama and Troy.
“We take [these] conference games very [seriously],” said Chestnutt. “We need to focus on ourselves and play defense.”
The team returns home to face two of the tougher teams in the conference. First up will be Middle Tennessee on Sept. 28. In their matchup last year the Panthers lost 2-0 to the Blue Raiders.
The team then plays against Western Kentucky on Sept. 30. The two teams last year fought hard to a 0-0 draw, giving the FIU its first tie of the season.
“The area of focus for us is defense. If you want to be a good attacking team, you a [need] good defense,” said Chestnutt.
After the next away game against North Texas, the team returns home for two games on alumni weekend.
The first team the Panthers will face is Louisiana, who gave FIU their second tie of the year in a 1-1 draw. The Ragin’ Cajuns ended the season with a record of 6-12-2. The team will play Louisiana-Monroe on Oct. 14 at the end of the alumni weekend.
The next two of three games to end the regular season will be on the road against Arkansas State and Florida Atlantic. Their last home game is against University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Oct. 21.
The Panthers then hope to continue to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament that will take place in Mobile, Ala. from Oct. 31-Nov. 3, where they finished 3-1-1 in the tournament last year.
The Panthers hope to finish the 2012 season with a trip to the NCAA tournament in San Diego, having achieved their goal of being nationally recognized.
“With what we did last year, I believe we can reach our goal,” said DiPerna.
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