Thursday, September 27, 2001

Men's Soccer hosts weekend FIU/Umbro Classic

he Golden Panther men’s soccer team (1-4-0) is back on the field this weekend hosting the FIU/Umbro Classic, Friday and Sunday, Sept. 28-30, at University Park.

On Friday, James Madison (3-2-0) plays Florida Atlantic (2-3-0) at 5:00 p.m., followed by FIU vs. Santa Clara (3-3-0) at 7:30 p.m. Sunday’s action features James Madison and Santa Clara at 12:30 pm and FIU against Florida Atlantic at three o’clock.

It’s been tough going for the Golden Panthers who opened the season with three straight road losses, all to ranked programs, before splitting a pair of matches last weekend in their home-opening FIU Classic. The squad beat Indiana-Purdue at Indianapolis, 2-0, last Friday for the first win of the year then fell to Marshall, 3-2, on Sunday.

This weekend’s opposition shouldn’t be any easier. Despite its .500 record coming in, Santa Clara is a perennial power in NCAA Division I soccer. The Broncs were 10-7-0 a year ago and the program has made 12 appearances in the postseason, including a 1999 Final Four showing. But much like FIU, Santa Clara has had trouble scoring. Over their first six contests, the Broncs have recorded just four goals, two of those in a 2-1 overtime win over Oregon State.

FAU is considered one of the better teams in the Trans America Athletic Conference this year and despite a rather lopsided 2-21 overall series record against FIU, forget the past when these two sides meet. The Owls are coming off a 2-1 overtime loss in Tampa to undefeated and No. 11-ranked University of South Florida. Junior forward and former Golden Panther Emiliano Aranes leads FAU in scoring with three goals and two assists on the year.

“It will be an interesting weekend to say the least,” said FIU head coach Karl Kremser. “We played a little better last week against IUPUI and had our chances to win against Marshall, but we didn’t take advantage of them.

“This weekend, we’ll play a well organized Santa Clara team that gets up and down the field quickly. They’re a very hard-working and disciplined group that we have to come prepared to play. Throw the past out the window when we play FAU. That will be an emotional battle,” he said.

Admission for each day’s session is $5.00 general admission for adults and $3.00 for seniors and youth. FIU students are always admitted free with a valid ID card. For more information, call the Athletic Ticket Office at (866) FIU-GAME.