FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men's soccer team (7-7-2, 3-1-1 ASUN) fell to NJIT (7-4-4, 4-1-0 ASUN), 2-1, Saturday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex.

Prior to the game's kickoff, the Eagles honored its senior class members in TC Anderson, Thomas Delplace, Ivan Rosales, Jahan Rajaee, Joao Burti, Miguel Perez, Ryan Medilah, Ernest Mitchell, Jomar Alvarez, Shak Adams and Tom Denat.

"We're disappointed. It was a big night and we had a great crowd," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "I just thought that we didn't show up. We probably got what we deserved tonight. We have a week to get ready for Stetson so we'll start focusing on that matchup soon and put this result behind us."

Right out of the box, the visitors got on the board first scoring one minute and four seconds into the game. FGCU though, responded right back four minutes later as Rajaee (Gainesville, Fla./F.W. Buchholz HS) netted his third goal of the season. Dribbling along the right-edge of the 18-yard box, Perez (Plantation, Fla./Cypress Bay HS) flicked over a cross that found the head of Rajaee for the equalizer. Perez now leads the team with four assists.

Heading towards the break, NJIT's Andrew Nino and Max Edwards (Woodbridge, Va./Radford College) were both booked with their second yellow card as each squad played with 10 men the rest of the contest.

In the second stanza, FGCU fired off eight shots, four of them coming on goal all by midfielder Medilah (Paris, France/San Jacinto). It was in the 84th minute of play that saw NJIT secure the game-winner – Gerald Cubero, his second of the night.  The Eagles outshot the Highlanders 18-11 and also held a 7-6 edge in corner kicks. Medilah led the Eagles in shots with five. Connor Gavigan (Aurora, Colo./Creighton) secured three saves in the losing effort.

Up Next
The Eagles are off until next Saturday, Nov. 2 when they will face off against Stetson (7-7-2, 3-1-1 ASUN) on the road to close out the regular season.

ASUN Standings
1. NJIT (12 pts, 7-4-4, 4-1-0)
T-2. FGCU (10 pts, 7-7-2, 3-1-1)
T-2. Stetson (10 pts, 7-7-2, 3-1-1)
T-2. UNF (10 pts, 4-6-2, 3-2-1)
5. Lipscomb (6 pts, 4-8-2, 2-3-0)
6. Liberty (3 pts, 5-11-0, 1-4-0)
7. Jacksonville (1 pts, 5-6-2, 0-4-1)

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 completed his second 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 24-18-7 (.561) record overall, including a 12-3-2 mark (.764) in ASUN play. The Eagles have reached the ASUN Tournament semifinals for eight-straight seasons (every year of eligibility), as Cormier has coached 16 all-conference selections since his arrival (program-record 10 in 2017). 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 138-107-54 (.551) record as a head coach in his fourteen plus seasons at the helm.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 78 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 11+ seasons at the Division-I level. Additionally, in just seven+ seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 36 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including both men's soccer, women's soccer, and women's basketball again in 2018-19. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.35 GPA in the classroom in spring 2018 and have outpaced their institution's undergraduate student body GPA each of the past 20 semesters. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl in 2017.