Friday, August 17, 2001

FIU Men’s Soccer opens camp for 2001 season

nder sweltering morning skies, FIU coach Karl Kremser welcomed 29 invited student-athletes to the opening of men’s soccer preseason practice Friday morning at the University Park practice fields. The team will participate in two-a-day workouts until the start of classes on Monday, August 27.

The Golden Panthers open their season on Sunday, September 2 in Tampa against the University of South Florida, the first of five-straight road games before the home opener, Sept. 21 against IUPUI.

Even after an 11-7-1 record and Atlantic Soccer Conference championship last season, the program missed the postseason for a third consecutive year. That will hopefully change this year because the NCAA expanded its tournament field from 32 to 48 teams and the ASC regular-season champ will be extended an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Despite that winning record, a lack of consistent scoring seemed to be the main culprit, especially in the late going. After scoring 18 goals over its first seven matches, FIU was limited to just 14 scores over the final 12.

Kremser hopes for an improvement there this season. Sophomore Ezequiel Romero (Hallandale/Hallandale HS) is back after leading the squad with eight goals and four assists. The coach also expects production from a pair of talented freshmen in Landy Mattison (Franklin, Tenn.) and Peruvian Alvaro Aservi.

Mattison comes to camp with already-impressive credentials. He played soccer, basketball and football in high school. In soccer, he was an all-state selection and a member of the under-18 U.S. National team, marking a first for an FIU recruit. He’ll concentrate strictly on soccer in college.

Kremser said he was quite pleased with the first day of camp, despite morning temperatures reaching the high 80s and 67-percent humidity.

“Overall, our team fitness is as good as I’ve ever seen. With this talent and our added depth, we could be pretty good this year. It’s just a matter now of coordinating our efforts on the field. That will ultimately be the key,” Kremser said.

The Golden Panthers continue their two-a-day practice schedule (8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.) through Sunday, Aug. 26. Practices are open to the public. The team will also scrimmage at Lynn University in Boca Raton next Wednesday, Aug. 22 at 10:30 a.m.

For ticket information, contact the FIU Athletic Ticket Office at 1-866-FIU-GAME.