JACKSONVILLE, FL – The FGCU men's soccer team (9-5-1, 5-1 ASUN) took down Jacksonville (4-12-0, 3-3-0 ASUN), 4-1, Saturday night to clinch its seventh ASUN regular season title in program history. With the win, the Eagles claimed the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye heading into next week's ASUN Championships.

"First of all, we have the utmost respect for the JU program how they compete and play," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "So to come here, and concede early, the guys did a great job battling back to take the game back and re-establish our identity and dominate long stretches."

FGCU was put in a 1-0 hole two minutes into the match after JU scored on a header off a cross. Unfazed, the Eagles found the equalizer courtesy of Shak Adams in the 26th minute. Both teams would march into the break knotted at one as FGCU put the contest away with a trio of goals provided by Jason Van Achteren, Miguel Perez and Ryan Medilah en route to the 4-1 comeback win over the Dolphins.

"To also have three goals from guys coming off the bench made a huge difference in many ways with second-half performances from Van Achteren, Perez, Medilah and Chris Clement, combined with fantastic leadership from Gustavo, Preston, Jordan, and Kamar in the back," added Cormier. We have the recipe for success going into the playoffs next weekend."

The home side wasted no time as Selemani Baruani curled a shot to the far post finding the head of Igor Ferreira for the 1-0 lead after two minutes. After conceding early, FGCU began to find its rhythm, firing four shots (two on goal) before Adams (Antioch, Tenn./Cane Ridge HS) tied the affair at one in the 26th minute.

Raheem Somersall (Basseterre, St. Kitts/Southern Durham/Appalachian State) played a ball from just past midfield to a sprinting Adams who gathered it inside the 18-yard box. From there the Tennessee native only needed two touches for his team-leading eighth tally of the year.

Keeper Gustavo Vasconcelos (Recife, Brazil/Colegio GGE) secured his only two saves of the night just before the half as the Eagles led the Dolphins 7-5 in shots going into the intermission while also holding a 4-1 advantage in corners.

The match remained deadlocked at 1-1 until 75th minute where Van Achteren (Antwerp, Belgium/Olvi Boom/Eastern/New Mexico/Embry-Riddle) put FGCU ahead. Coming in as a sub in the 60th minute, the Belgium native gathered a cross from Adams as his first initial attempt was denied but the senior put the rebound away for his first goal of the season.

From that moment, the offense clicked and 10 minutes later Perez (Caracas, Venezuela/Cypress Bay) made it 3-1 with his second tally of the season in the 84th. After a cross was deflected in the penalty box, the junior settled and shot it once before it was saved. On the rebound, he turned around using his left foot and snuck it through the near-post.

One minute before the final whistle, Medilah (Paris, France/Lycee Maurice Ravel/San Jacinto/Cloud County) bagged the final goal for FGCU on the counter. With the JU keeper racing back to his line, Medilah fired a shot from about 20-yards out for his second goal of the year.

The ASUN's leading defense was in true form in the final 45 minutes as the Green and Blue's backline clamped down and yielded only four shots in the second period with none coming on frame. In the process, Vasconcelos moves to 8-3-1 in net this season.

FGCU capped off the contest registering 19 shots with a season-high 12 on goal.
 

Overall ASUN Conference Men's Soccer Standings
Team	Points	ASUN Record	Overall Record
#1 Lipscomb*^	15	5-1-0	7-9-0
#2 FGCU*^	15	5-1-0	9-5-1
#3 North Florida*	9	3-3-0	4-10-0
#4 Jacksonville*	9	3-3-0	4-12-0
#5 Liberty*	7	2-3-1	7-6-1
#6 Stetson*	4	1-4-1	6-9-1
NJIT	3	1-5-0	6-11-0

*Clinched a spot in the ASUN Championship
^Clinched a first-round bye and hosting rights in the ASUN Championship

UP NEXT
No. 2 FGCU will play the winner of No. 3 UNF and No. 6 Stetson in the semifinals of the ASUN Championship next Sunday, Nov. 4. The time is still to be determined.

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 17-11-4 (.581) record overall, including a 9-2-1 mark (.773) in ASUN play. In 2017, 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 131-100-51 (.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.