DeLAND, Fla. – Following a dominant 4-0 win over Jacksonville on Wednesday to open Atlantic Sun Conference action, the No. 14 RPI-ranked FGCU men's soccer team (3-2-1, 1-0-0 A-Sun) faces its first road league test of the season on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. when the Eagles take on in-state foe Stetson (4-4-1, 0-0-0 A-Sun).
OPENING KICKFGCU and Lipscomb (3-0 at USC Upstate) both posted shutouts to open league play during the middle of the week and have the early lead atop the conference standings one year after sharing the regular-season crown. Stetson and UNF will open A-Sun play Saturday night as all six men's soccer league members are in action.
The Eagles own a dominant overall record of 33-4-3 in all A-Sun regular-season games since the start of the 2010 season. All four of those losses have come on the road, and out of a possible 120 points that could have been earned in that time, the Eagles have claimed an impressive 102 of them (85 percent) en route to a previously unforeseen five-straight A-Sun regular-season titles.
One of those four league losses over the past 5+ years came two years ago at Stetson as the Hatters scored in the final 10 minutes to hand the Eagles a 2-1 defeat.
HOW TO FOLLOWThe game will be video streamed via Stetson's subscription-based
Hatter Vision. Additionally,
live stats are available, and fans can stay posted and interact throughout the match on Twitter by following
@FGCU_MSoccer.
MATCHUP BREAKDOWNFGCU and Stetson enter Saturday's match with the two lowest goals-against averages in the A-Sun as the Eagles and Hatters both have identical 0.96 marks. Not surprising, the clubs' two starting goalkeepers are at the top of the league stats in that same category, with
Nathan Ingham (Keswick, Ontario/Keswick HS) leading the league and ranking 14th in the nation with a 0.53 goals-against average. Stetson's Paul Ladwig has a 0.96 GAA and two shutouts, a total Ingham also has. Finally, both keepers lead the A-Sun in save percentage as well with Ingham at .846 and Ladwig at .812. Ingham's save percentage ranks 14th in the country.
Offensively, both teams have lethal threats as
Dylan Sacramento (Winnipeg, Manitoba/York University) ranks second in the A-Sun in points per game with 2.5 and is fourth in total points with 10 off five goals despite only playing in four games and logging just 162 minutes (an average of a goal every 32 minutes). Meanwhile, Stetson's Lucas Diniz is third in the league in points per game at 1.89 and second in total points with 17 off eight goals and an assist.
SCOUTING STETSONDiniz is the active career points leader in the A-Sun despite having played less than two seasons with the Hatters as he has combined for 40 points in 25 matches (15 goals, 10 assists). While
Sawyer Jackman (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles East HS) was named A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, Stetson's Daniel O'Brien was tabbed as the A-Sun Player of the Week after securing three points in his Hatters' debut.
Stetson hasn't played since a 2-1 overtime win at home over FAU on Sept. 23. The Hatters opened the season with back-to-back wins at Georgia Southern (3-1) and at UAB (3-0) and then followed it up with a 1-1 tie in their home opener versus Detroit. Those results catapulted Stetson into receiving votes in several national polls, but three-straight losses in early September calmed the momentum.
ALL-TIME vs. STETSONAfter Stetson won three-straight one-goal games against FGCU from 2007-09, the Eagles won three in a row to tie the all-time series at 3-3 until the loss in DeLand in 2013. FGCU bounced back with a 1-0 double-overtime triumph at the FGCU Soccer Complex last year, and the all-time series between the two teams is tied at 4-4.
CLOSING IN ON HISTORY ALREADYWith the aforementioned five goals in only four games for junior transfer Sacramento, the Canadian is already within two goals of tying the single-season program record for goals. Seven players are tied for fourth on that list with six goals, while the record of seven is shared by Deion Jones (2010), Cristian Raudales (2011) and
Felipe DeSousa (2012) – all of whom needed to play between 15-19 games in their respective season to reach the mark.
LAST TIME OUTAfter a quick start by Jacksonville, FGCU settled down and eventually blew the Dolphins away with a dominant 4-0 victory at home Wednesday night. Sacramento scored the first and last goals for the Eagles, with sophomore defender
Nicolas Samayoa (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Colegio Valle Verde) and junior forward
Justin Gavin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Eastern Florida State College/Treasure Coast HS) finishing the other two goals for the Green and Blue.
CLEAN SHEET HISTORYThe 4-0 shutout for FGCU was its largest clean sheet in any game since the same result against Rhode Island during the 2011 season. Furthermore, the 4-0 result is the largest against an A-Sun opponent since a 6-0 blanking of UNF to end the 2010 campaign. FGCU also defeated Jacksonville, 4-0, in the game prior to that contest with the Ospreys. The 4-0 shutout is tied for the second-largest in program history against an A-Sun opponent as the Eagles also have 4-0 clean sheets against Belmont (2009), Campbell (2009) and USC Upstate (2007).
THE BEST IN THE NATIONWith the win over JU, FGCU extended the nation's longest home regular-season conference unbeaten streak to 27, dating back to 2008 as the Eagles have gone an incredible 24-0-3 in that time. FGCU's last home regular-season A-Sun loss came to Jacksonville, 2-0, on Oct. 19, 2008 – more than 2,500 days ago.
RPI NO. 14The NCAA released its first official RPI ranking of the year on Monday, and FGCU was by far the highest-ranked A-Sun member at No. 14. All five of FGCU's non-conference opponents this year are ranked in the top 100, including No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 8 USF, No. 21 Georgetown, No. 54 Princeton and No. 99 Brown.
FGCU dropped one-goal games at both Wake Forest, 1-0, and USF, 2-1, tied Georgetown, 0-0, and defeated Princeton, 3-2, and Brown, 2-1. In a testament to the strength of the non-conference schedule, the Eagles – who along with Columbia have played the fewest games in the nation – are the only team in the top 25 of the RPI with a .500 record (at the time the ranking was released).
The RPI is one of the most important factors the selection committee utilizes when considering teams for postseason at-large berths and seeding in the NCAA Tournament. In addition to Wake Forest, USF and Georgetown, FGCU also still has non-conference games left against two more teams in the top 25 of the RPI as it will host FIU (25) on Oct. 20 and travel to UNC Wilmington (12) on Oct. 31.
STANDOUT PERFORMANCESAfter posting one of the best performances by a true freshman goalkeeper in FGCU program history, Jackman was named A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week after making seven saves on the road against Brown last Friday night, helping preserve a 2-1 FGCU win. Four of the seven stops came in the final 30 minutes of the game, and the only goal he allowed came on a penalty kick in the 82nd minute.
The seven saves are tied for the second-most in program history by a freshman (Adam Glick, 2007), and the seven stops are tied for the eighth-most by any keeper in program history. Additionally, the seven saves are tied for the second-most by any goalkeeper in the A-Sun this year.
Additionally,
Rodrigo Saravia (Guatemala City, Guatemala/College Internacional Montessori) was tabbed to the
Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week on Tuesday as he issued two assists against the Bears. The midfielder set up
Miguel Jaime (Denver, Colo./Cherry Creek HS) as the sophomore scored his first career goal in the 51st minute and then sent the initial ball into the box off a set piece which was eventually driven into the upper 90 by Sacramento for the game-winner in the 86th minute.
INGHAM CHASING HISTORY Ingham earned his 21st career shutout on Wednesday against Jacksonville, moving him within four of tying and five of breaking the all-time A-Sun mark. Additionally, Ingham – who was named the PDL Championship MVP this summer – is also closing in on the A-Sun record for lowest career goals-against average. A-Sun men's soccer history dates back to 1979.
A-Sun Career Shutouts1) Ryan Coulter: 25 (ETSU, 2011-13)
2) Jeff Cassar: 23 (FIU, 1992-95)
3) Nathan Ingham: 21 (FGCU, 2011-Present) Aaron Johnson: 21 (Campbell, 2005-08)
A-Sun Career Goals-Against Average (minimum 2,000 minutes)
1) Ryan Coulter: 0.95 (ETSU, 2011-13)
2) Nathan Ingham: 1.00 (FGCU, 2011-Present) Kyle Roelke: 1.00 (Belmont, 2004-05)
ONE FOR THE OTHER THUMB?By virtue of a 4-1-1 A-Sun record last year, FGCU claimed an unprecedented fifth-straight A-Sun regular-season championship and will be looking to extend that run to six in 2015. Despite only joining the league and becoming a Division-I member in 2007, FGCU is the first program in the history of the A-Sun to claim at least a share of five-straight regular-season titles.
NEXT UPFollowing the match with Stetson, FGCU will have a week off before returning to A-Sun play next Saturday, Oct. 10, at UNF. Kickoff against the Ospreys – who are 4-5-1 heading into their league opener at Lipscomb Saturday night – is set for 7 p.m. from Jacksonville.
TICKET INFORMATIONSingle-game tickets are available starting at just $7 for adults, $5 for youth (3-12) and $20 for a family pack. More information, including additional special discounts and group rates, can be accessed by logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/tickets or by clicking here. To purchase tickets, or for additional inquiries, call the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. FOLLOW ALONGFor up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the FGCU men's soccer program, follow on Twitter @FGCU_MSoccer,
Instagram @FGCU_MSoccer, Facebook /FGCUMSoccer and YouTube /FGCUAthletics. COACH BUTEHORNFGCU is led by Bob Butehorn, who has coached 45 A-Sun All-Conference selections since FGCU started its program in 2007. In just four years of postseason eligibility, Butehorn has guided FGCU to three A-Sun Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances – in 2011, 2012 and 2014 – and has won an unprecedented five-straight A-Sun regular-season championships. His teams have been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets. Now in his 13th season as a head coach, Butehorn has a 111-89-23 (.549) overall record, 77-57-19 (.565) mark in his 9th season at FGCU and 45-17-5 (.709) record in A-Sun contests. SUPPORT THE CAUSEFGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
