JACKSONVILLE, FL – The FGCU men's soccer team will conclude its regular-season slate on the road at Jacksonville Saturday night. With a win, the Eagles can clinch at least a share of the ASUN and a first-round bye heading into next week's conference championships.
Matchup: FGCU (8-5-1, 4-1 ASUN) vs JU (4-11-0, 3-2 ASUN)
When: Sat. Oct. 27 | 7:00 PM | Southern Oak Stadium
Links: Watch |
Live Stats |
Coaches: Jesse Cormier (2nd Season @ FGCU; 15th Overall, 130-100-51) |
Mauricio Ruiz (4th Season @ JU; Same overall, 21-43-2)
OPENING KICK
The matchup will mark the 13th all-time meeting between the Eagles and the Dolphins – FGCU holds a 9-3 advantage. After dropping a 4-1 road contest to JU back in 2009, FGCU has gone on to win the last nine matches. In 2016, both programs met in the ASUN Championship final in which the Eagles came out on top 3-2, as they would march into the NCAA Tournament, making it to the second round for the first time in program history. Last season, the Eagles captured a 1-0 victory with the lone goal being provided by
Shak Adams in the 18th minute.
INSIDE THE FGCU LINEUP
O'Vonte Mullings (Toronto, Ontario/ Northview Heights Secondary) tallied three points (1g, 1a) in FGCU's last outing in the 5-0 win over UNF. The freshman now has seven goals this season and four assists for 18 points
. Adams (Antioch, Tenn./Cane Ridge HS) on the other hand also has netted seven goals, pairing that with seven assists for a team-best 21 points.
Between the posts, keeper
Gustavo Vasconcelos (Recife, Brazil/Colegio GGE) is 7-3-1, accumulating 54 saves, for a .783 save percentage and a 1.35 goals against average – all ASUN bests among keepers.
The Eagles are currently ranked 57th in the RPI standings.
2018 ASUN Weekly Awards
O'Vonte Mullings – Player of the Week (Aug. 27)
Gustavo Vasconcelos – Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 10)
Shak Adams – Player of the Week (Sept. 17)
Raheem Somersall – Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 17)
Gustavo Vasconcelos – Defensive Player of the Week (Sept. 24)
ASUN OVERVIEW
FGCU was picked 2nd in the ASUN preseason coaches' poll, making it the first time since 2012 the Eagles were not selected as the preseason league favorite.
Preston Kilwien (Pleasant Hill, Calif./College Park HS) was installed as league's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year while Adams and senior
Dennis Zapata (Orlando, Fla./University HS) joined Kilwien on the preseason all-conference team as FGCU's three selections were the most of any team in the league.
The Green and Blue finished just behind defending tournament champion Lipscomb in the preseason poll with 41 points while the Bisons had 42 points. Lipscomb received four 1st-place votes, while FGCU had one, 3rd-place Jacksonville (28 points) also had one and 4th-place NJIT (25) additionally picked up a top vote. Stetson (5th, 23 points), league newcomer Liberty (6th, 22 points) and North Florida (7th, 15 points) rounded out the preseason poll.
ASUN DOMINANCE
FGCU owns a dominant record of 47-7-6 (.830) in all ASUN regular-season games since the start of the 2010 season. Out of a possible 183 points that could have been earned in that time, the Green and Blue have claimed an impressive 150 of them (82 percent).
AROUND THE ASUN
| School |
Pts |
ASUN |
Overall |
RECENT RESULTS |
| FGCU* |
12 |
4-1-0 |
8-5-1 |
W- UNF, 5-0 |
| Lipscomb* |
12 |
4-1-0 |
6-9-0 |
L- Memphis, 2-0 (Oct. 23) |
| Jacksonville* |
9 |
3-2-0 |
4-11-0 |
W- FAU, 3-1 (Oct 23) |
| Liberty* |
7 |
2-3-1 |
7-6-1 |
W- Jacksonville, 3-2 (Oct. 20) |
| North Florida |
6 |
2-3-0 |
3-10-0 |
L- FGCU, 5-0 |
| Stetson |
4 |
1-3-1 |
6-8-1 |
W- UNF, 2-0 (Oct. 20) |
| NJIT |
3 |
1-4-0 |
6-10-0 |
L- La Salle, 2-1 (Oct. 23) |
* - Clinched a spot in ASUN Championship
MATCHES TO WATCH SATURDAY
FGCU @ JU 7 PM
NJIT @ UNF 7 PM
Stetson @ Lipscomb 8 PM (CST)
SCOUTING THE DOLPHINS
Jacksonville is coming off a 3-1 win over FAU to bump its record to 4-11 overall, going 3-2 in ASUN play. Reed Davis is the player to watch in the final attacking third. Davis leads the offense with five goals and has produced one assist. Selemani Baruani is right behind him with four goals along with a pair of helpers.
In net, Matt Levy is 3-5 in eight starts and holds a 2.27 GAA and has secured 48 saves for a .716 percentage.
FGCU RECORD BOOK
POINTS
| 1 |
76 |
Albert Ruiz (34g 8a) - 2014-17 |
| 2 |
46 |
Shak Adams (18g 10a) 2016-Present |
| 3 |
43 |
Cristian Raudales (19g 5a) - 2008-11 |
| 4 |
38 |
Felipe DeSousa(18g 2a) - 2012-14 |
|
38 |
Arion Sobers-Assue(12g 14a) - 2014-17 |
| 6 |
32 |
Dylan Sacramento (12g 8a) - 2015-17 |
| 7 |
31 |
Joey Portillo (8g 15a) - 2008-11 |
| 8 |
30 |
Francesco DiStefano (9g 12a) - 2008-11 |
|
30 |
Scott Harrison (12g 6a) - 2008-11 |
| 10 |
29 |
Dennis Zapata (9g 11a) - 2015-Present |
GOALS
ASSISTS
| 1 |
15 |
Josey Portillo - 2008-11 |
| 2 |
14 |
Arion Sobers-Assue -2014-17 |
| 3 |
12 |
Francesco DiStefano - 2008-11 |
| 4 |
11 |
Dennis Zapata - 2015-Present |
|
11 |
Andres Navas- 2009-12 |
| 6 |
10 |
Deion Jones - 2009-12 |
|
10 |
Shak Adams - 2016-Present |
| 7 |
9 |
William Morse - 2009-12 |
|
9 |
Skylar Wilks - 2013-15 |
|
9 |
Miguel Jaime - 2014-17 |
GAME-WINNING GOALS
| 1 |
8 |
Felipe DeSousa - 2012-14 |
| 2 |
6 |
Cristian Raudales - 2008-11 |
|
6 |
Shak Adams - 2016-Present |
| 4 |
5 |
Xavier Silva -2011-14 |
|
5 |
Albert Ruiz - 2014-2017 |
|
5 |
Henry Penagos - 2010-14 |
| 7 |
4 |
Robert Ferrer - 2015-17 |
|
4 |
Arion Sobers-Assue - 2014-17 |
|
4 |
Francesco DiStefano - 2008-11 |
|
4 |
Santiago Echeverri - 2011-14 |
BUILDING A CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAM
Since the program's first two seasons in 2007 and 2008, FGCU has posted a winning record each of the past nine years. All-time, the Eagles are 110-72-28 (.573) in 11 seasons, including a dominant 60-20-8 (.720) record in ASUN contests. In just seven years of D-I postseason eligibility, FGCU has won four ASUN Tournament championships and made four NCAA Tournament appearances – in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2016 – and won an unprecedented six-straight ASUN regular-season championships from 2010-15. In 2017, the Eagles continued a stretch of never being seeded lower than 2nd and have reached at least the semifinals in all seven eligible seasons.
INSIDE THE SCHEDULE
All told, the 2018 slate features 16 games, including 10 non-conference matchups to prepare the Eagles for what they hope is a fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in only eight seasons of eligibility. Of those 10 non-league contests, an incredible five are against NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago.
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.
HEAD COACH JESSE CORMIER
Jesse Cormier is in his second season as head coach of the FGCU men's soccer program after being hired in January of 2017 to become just the 2nd head coach in program history. Cormier has guided FGCU to a 16-11-4 (.581) record overall, including a 8-2-1 mark (.773) in ASUN play. The Eagles reached the ASUN Tournament semifinals for the 7th-straight season (every year of eligibility), as Cormier coached a program-record 10 all-conference selections. Cormier was the head coach at his alma mater the University of Vermont for the previous 13 seasons. He won 14 games with the Catamounts in 2016 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round. During his time with Vermont, Cormier guided the program to the America East Tournament in 12 of 13 seasons, making five title game appearances, winning two tournament crowns, claiming a regular-season championship and advancing to three NCAA tournaments, including a pair of Second Round appearances. Cormier holds an overall 130-100-51 (.553) record as a head coach in his fourteen plus seasons at the helm.
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.
