FIU hosts its biggest regular season soccer game in many a year the same day defender Anthony Hobbs was announced as one of the finalists for the 2012 Senior CLASS Award in soccer.
Tonight, FIU, 7-3-2 and ranked No. 7 in the South Region, hosts 8-3-2 SMU, ranked No. 19 nationally. FIU gets top goal scorer Quentin Albrecht back from a one-game suspension for getting five yellow cards. SMU's 4-1-0 in Conference USA while FIU's only 0-2-1, but, clearly, the coaching change from Munga Eketebi to Kenny Arena and being back to a full complement of scholarships agrees with FIU so far. This game could tell much about how far they've come and how far they still have to go before regaining the status the program held in the 1980s and 1990s.
As for Hobbs honor, the award goes to a Division I senior who has shown excellent acheivement in "community, character, classroom and competition." Fan voating accounts for a third of the award (you can vote at http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/DI_mens_soccer_2012/) with two-thirds being the opinions of coaches and national media.
