Bautista Samperi | Sports Director
The FIU men’s soccer team will be looking for a spot in the conference finals as they visit No. 1 ranked team Charlotte on Nov. 12, at 7 p.m.
This matchup comes just over two weeks of the Panthers defeating Charlotte 1-0 on senior night, in what was the last home game of the season.
FIU reached the semifinals after beating Missouri State at home, 1-0. The Panthers had also won the regular season matchup against the Bears early in the year by the same result.
In the quarterfinal game, FIU was able to come up with a win thanks to sophomore Alfonso Gilleard-Soriano’s first career goal.
Goalkeeper Nigel Van Haveren recorded three saves and his fourth shutout of the season.
As a team, FIU finished the night with seven shots, two on target, and committed 16 fouls.
After the win head coach Kyle Russell praised his team’s overall performance, “We have a group that is very focused right now.” He added, “We’re excited and honored to continue our journey, that is the message, that the story is not finished.”
This is the second consecutive year that the Panthers have reached the conference semifinals. Last year, FIU made it all the way to the conference finals where they lost to Charlotte. This year, they are looking to take over the AAC and make it back to the NCAA Tournament.
If they were to advance, FIU would face the winner of the series between Tulsa and Florida Atlantic.
The Panthers lost to both the Golden Hurricane and the Owls, both games away from Leyva Family Field at FIU Soccer Stadium.
The conference finals will be on Nov. 15. in Charlotte, N.C. where one team will look to be the representative of the American Athletic Conference in the NCAA Tournament.
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