| FGCU (0-1-1) vs. Princeton (1-0-0) | Sept. 10 | 7 PM | FGCU Soccer Complex
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| FGCU (0-1-1) vs. Penn (0-1-1) | Sept. 12 | 7 PM | FGCU Soccer Complex
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FORT MYERS, Fla. – After facing a pair of nationally-ranked opponents to begin the season, the FGCU men's soccer team (0-1-1) will face two tests against Ivy League members Princeton (1-0-0) and Penn (0-1-1) at the FGCU Soccer Complex on Thursday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (7 p.m.), respectively.
OPENING KICK
After commencing the campaign by facing then-No. 3 Georgetown at home and then-No. 20 Wake Forest (now No. 14) on the road, FGCU will now face the team with the nation's longest unbeaten streak in Princeton. The Tigers are 9-0-1 over their past 10 games dating back to last year – one better than Davidson (5-0-4) and two better than both defending national champion Virginia (6-0-2) and North Carolina (6-0-2).
The matches against Princeton and Penn will two of the final opportunities for fans to see the Eagles at home over the next five weeks as they will only play one contest at the FGCU Soccer Complex (Sept. 30 vs. Jacksonville) until Oct. 17.
WHAT TO KNOW
Single-game tickets are only $7 for adults, $5 for children (ages 3-12) and $20 for a family pack (two adults and 2-5 children). Additional ticket information can be accessed at the top of the release.
The game will be live streamed directly on FGCUAthletics.com by following the link at the top of the release or visiting FGCUAthletics.com/LiveMSOC. Live stats and in-game Twitter updates are also available by following the links at the top of the release.
Thursday will mark a Residence Rumble Housing Challenge for all students on campus, with the opportunity to also partake in a halftime shooting contest against FGCU mascot Azul who will be in net. Saturday represents Youth Night as all children 12 or under wearing green or blue are admitted free of charge with a paid adult.
EARLY-SEASON RESET
FGCU opened the season on Aug. 28 by hosting Georgetown and battling the Hoyas to a scoreless draw which catapulted the Eagles to No. 19 in the nation last Monday in
Top Drawer Soccer's poll. On Labor Day, Georgetown defeated the No. 1 team in the country when it dispatched of UCLA, 3-1.
The Eagles remained at home for a tilt with in-state foe UCF on Sept. 2, but after an impending second lightning delay with FGCU leading 2-0, the game was officially declared a "no contest" just seven minutes shy of being official. Then, a shortened lineup due to injuries – which was cut down even more during the course of the game because of more injuries – led to a 1-0 setback for FGCU at Wake Forest over the weekend.
REGIONAL RANKING
FGCU is ranked No. 8 in the most recent NSCAA Southeast Region Poll along with three other A-Sun members: Stetson, Jacksonville and Lipscomb. Kentucky tops the regional ranking, while Old Dominion is at No. 2.
WEEKEND SNAPSHOT
The matchups with the two Ivy League members are return games from when the Eagles flocked to the Northeast for a weekend in 2013 and came back with a 3-2 overtime victory over Penn and 1-0 overtime triumph versus Princeton. The Tigers (RPI: 42 in 2014) went 11-3-3 last year, including a 5-1-1 mark in the Ivy to share for the league title; however, Dartmouth received the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament by virtue of a head-to-head win over Princeton. Penn, meanwhile, is a familiar program for FGCU head coach
Bob Butehorn as he spent 2001-05 with the Quakers as an assistant coach, helping lead them to an Ivy crown in 2002.
SCOUTING PRINCETON
Princeton opened the season with 2-1 win at St. John's on Friday night as Thomas Sanner scored the game-winning goal in the 87th minute off a corner kick by Nico Hurtado. The Tigers trailed 1-0 at the half, but struck in the 71st minute when sophomore Nicholas Badalamenti found the back of the net. Princeton keeper Ben Hummel needed to make just two saves on the evening, and both of those came in the opening 15 minutes of the contest.
Offensively, Princeton is looking to replace the NCAA leader in points and goals per game from 2014, Cameron Porter. Porter scored 15 of the team's 34 goals last season. Sanner, Brendan McSherry and Hurtado are the top-returning scorers with 19, 10 and eight points, respectively. First Team All-Ivy League defender Josh Miller will help captain the team, along with First Team All-Ivy midfielder McSherry. Also returning is Ivy League Honorable Mention Hummel, who posted a 1.30 goals-against average and a .744 save percentage.
SCOUTING PENN
Like FGCU, Penn is 0-1-1 early in the season with two tough contests already under its belt. Last weekend, Penn opened with a 0-0 draw against then-No. 7 Washington, but followed with a 4-0 defeat two days later at American. While the Eagles were not ranked at the time, they have moved up to No. 21 this week in the NSCAA/Continental Tire national poll. Through those two matches, Penn has been out-shot, 39-12, and has a deficit of 16-4 in terms of shots on goal. Penn has opened the season with a pair of goalless matches for the first time since 1998.
Penn returns 12 players from last season, including seven starters. Junior Alec Neumann, who led the Quakers and ranked third in the Ivy League in goals (eight) and points (21), returns up top. He is the leading returning scorer among all Ivy League players and has 13 goals and 35 total points in 35 career matches.
INGHAM CHASING HISTORY
Redshirt senior goalkeeper
Nathan Ingham (Keswick, Ontario/Keswick HS) earned his 20th career shutout in the season opener against Georgetown, setting the FGCU program record and moving him within five of tying and six 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 Shutouts
1) Ryan Coulter: 25 (ETSU, 2011-13)
2) Jeff Cassar: 23 (FIU, 1992-95)
3) Aaron Johnson: 21 (Campbell, 2005-08)
4) Nathan Ingham: 20 (FGCU, 2011-Present)
A-Sun Career Goals-Against Average (minimum 2,000 minutes)
1) Ryan Coulter: 0.95 (ETSU, 2011-13)
2) Kyle Roelke: 1.00 (Belmont, 2004-05)
3) Nathan Ingham: 1.01 (FGCU, 2011-Present)
DID YOU KNOW?
The Eagles have an incredible overall record of 32-4-3 in all A-Sun regular-season games since the start of the 2010 season. All four of those conference losses have come on the road, and out of a possible 117 points that could have been earned in that time, the Eagles have claimed an impressive 99 of them.
Additionally, FGCU owns the longest home regular-season conference unbeaten streak in the nation. FGCU has not lost a home regular-season A-Sun game since 2008, a stretch of 26 in a row in which the Eagles are unbeaten (23-0-3). Included in that run is a 19-game winning streak. FGCU's last home regular-season A-Sun loss came to Jacksonville, 2-0, on Oct. 19, 2008.
NEXT UP
Following the matches with Princeton and Penn, FGCU will head up I-75 to renew a rivalry with USF next Saturday, Sept. 19, at 7 p.m. The Bulls are receiving votes (ranked No. 28) in the NSCAA/Continental Tire national poll this week with a 2-2-0 record, with victories over Georgetown and Missouri State and losses to No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 18 Indiana.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season- and single-game tickets are available for the 2015 campaign, with season tickets starting at just $35. More information, including 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 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 108-88-23 overall record, 74-56-19 mark in his 9th season at FGCU and 44-17-5 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.
