SPARTANBURG, S.C. – With a chance to claim at least a share of an unprecedented 6th-straight Atlantic Sun Conference regular-season championship, the No. 22 FGCU men's soccer team (5-3-3, 3-0-1 A-Sun) faces USC Upstate (5-4-1, 1-1-1 A-Sun) on the Spartans' Senior Night Saturday at 7 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
The match will be broadcast on ASun.TV by clicking here. Additionally, live stats can be accessed by clicking here, and fans can stay posted and interact throughout the match on Twitter by following @FGCU_MSoccer.
 
OPENING KICK
With a win, FGCU will clinch at least a share of the A-Sun regular-season title. The Eagles currently have 10 points (13 with a win), and the only other team which could match their 13 points would be North Florida. The Ospreys and Eagles played to a 1-1 draw earlier this year.
 
Saturday will mark the final A-Sun match for FGCU, but UNF still has two contests remaining: Saturday at Jacksonville (3-9-1, 1-3-0 A-Sun) and next Saturday at home versus USC Upstate. Provided that FGCU at least ties USC Upstate, the Eagles and UNF – currently 2-0-1 in the league – are the only two teams that can win the A-Sun regular-season crown.
 
For FGCU To Win The A-Sun Title Outright:
* FGCU defeats USC Upstate and UNF does not win both of its final two games.
* FGCU ties USC Upstate and UNF loses one of its final two games OR ties both of its final two games.
 
For FGCU To At Least Share The A-Sun Title:
* FGCU defeats USC Upstate and UNF wins both of its final two games.
* FGCU ties USC Upstate and UNF wins one of its final two games and ties the other.
 
If FGCU loses to USC Upstate, the Eagles can still win the A-Sun regular season title outright or share it, but the scenarios become more complicated as UNF and Upstate play each other next week.
 
The winner of the A-Sun regular season will host the conference championship next month, with additional details announced once more seeding is finalized. If FGCU and UNF finish tied atop the league standings, the first tiebreaker is goal differential in conference games. Currently, FGCU is +10 with 11 goals for and only one against, while UNF is +5 with six goals and only one against.
 
SERIES HISTORY
FGCU will look to continue its dominance over USC Upstate as the Eagles have never lost to the Spartans, going 7-0-1 in eight all-time meetings. Furthermore, FGCU has shut out USC Upstate each of the last six times the two teams have met, and seven of the eight meetings overall. The only meeting in which USC Upstate scored against FGCU was a 2-2 tie during the 2008 season. Outside of that match, FGCU has out-scored USC Upstate, 13-0.
 
NATIONAL RANKING
FGCU is at No. 22 in the Top Drawer Soccer national rankings for the second-consecutive week. It marks the third week this year the Green and Blue has been nationally ranked by TDS as after tying then-No. 3 Georgetown in the season opener they checked in at No. 19. This is the highest FGCU has been ranked during the regular season in any national poll since 2010 when it also checked in at No. 19 in the Soccer America poll on Nov. 2 and Nov. 9.
 
A-SUN DOMINANCE
FGCU owns a dominant 35-4-4 record 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 129 points that could have been earned in that time, the Eagles have claimed an impressive 109 of them en route to an unprecedented five-straight A-Sun regular-season titles.
 
SCOUTING USC UPSTATE
USC Upstate leads the A-Sun and ranks top-10 nationally in offense with 2.3 goals per game. Freshman Gordon Wild leads the country in goals per game at 1.4 as he has deposited 14 this year – five more than anyone else in the A-Sun.
 
However, that offensive firepower has been lacking in A-Sun play as the Spartans have been shut out in two of their three games, including Wednesday night at home against Stetson as part of a 0-0 tie. All three of Upstate's league goals have come in a 3-1 win over Jacksonville as the team has not scored a goal at home against an A-Sun opponent this year.
 
CLOSING IN ON HISTORY
Nathan Ingham (Keswick, Ontario/Keswick HS) was named A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after posting a pair of shutouts last week against FAU (0-0) and Lipscomb (4-0). The clean sheet against the Bisons was his fifth of the year and 24th of his career.
 
Despite giving up two goals against the nation's highest-scoring offense in FIU on Tuesday night, Ingham still boasts the nation's 13th-best goals against average at 0.54. Additionally, his .844 save percentage checks in 14th nationally.
 
At this pace, Ingham would shatter the A-Sun single-season record for goals-against average as the current mark is 0.61 held by Centenary's Damin Hill in 1987. Last year, Ingham posted a 0.71 goals-against average to rank as the fourth-best single season in league history.
 
With his 24 career shutouts, Ingham is now within one of tying and two of breaking the all-time A-Sun mark. Additionally, Ingham's career goals-against average is now 0.96 – just 0.03 shy of becoming the best in the history of the A-Sun, which dates back to 1979.
 
A-Sun Career Shutouts
1) Ryan Coulter: 25 (ETSU, 2011-13)
2) Nathan Ingham: 24 (FGCU, 2011-Present)
3) Jeff Cassar: 23 (FIU, 1992-95)
 
A-Sun Career Goals-Against Average (minimum 2,000 minutes)
1) Ryan Coulter: 0.95 (ETSU, 2011-13)
2) Nathan Ingham: 0.96 (FGCU, 2011-Present)
3) Kyle Roelke: 1.00 (Belmont, 2004-05)
 
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
Transfer Dylan Sacramento (Winnipeg, Manitoba/York University) has made his initial season in the Green and Blue a memorable one already as the striker has a team-leading six goals in only eight games. With his next goal, Sacramento will tie the FGCU single-season program record for goals with seven. That mark is currently held by three players in consecutive seasons from 2010-12: Deion Jones (18 games), Cristian Raudales (19 games) and Felipe DeSousa (15 games). Sacramento's six goals are tied for third in the A-Sun, while his 1.50 points per game average is tied for second. This past Saturday, Sacramento's latest goal earned a spot on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays. Watch the clip here.
 
FGCU OVERVIEW
Sophomore Albert Ruiz (Barcelona, Spain/UE Cornella/CE L'Hospitalet) converted his fourth penalty kick of the year on Tuesday against FIU, tying him for the all-time program record. All of his goals this year have come on PKs as he ranks second on the team with eight points. Former backline member turned offensive weapon Skylar Wilks (Tampa, Fla./Newsome HS) is third on the team with two goals and two assists for six points.
 
Eleven of FGCU's 18 goals this year have come in its four conference games as the Eagles have five more goals than any other team in A-Sun action. Furthermore, FGCU's 30 points in A-Sun action are 12 more than any other club as the Eagles also have a miniscule 0.24 goals against average in league play.
 
NATION'S BEST
With a win over Lipscomb this past Saturday, FGCU extended its nation-best home regular-season conference unbeaten streak to 28 in a row dating back to October of 2008 as the Eagles are 24-0-4 in that timeframe.
 
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 on Saturday. 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 UP
FGCU concludes its regular season with another important non-conference contest at UNC Wilmington (8-4-2) next Saturday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. UNCW is receiving votes in the national polls and present another top-30 non-league RPI opponent for the Eagles.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
For 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 BUTEHORN
FGCU 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 113-90-25 (.550) overall record, 79-58-21 (.566) mark in his 9th season at FGCU and 47-17-6 (.714) record in A-Sun contests.
 
SUPPORT THE CAUSE
FGCU 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.