FORT MYERS, Fla. – The No. 14 FGCU men's soccer team (3-0-1) embarks on its second road trip of the season as the Eagles fly to California for a pair of games Friday and Sunday night.
The Green and Blue
FGCU is coming off a pair of victories over Seton Hall and Georgia Southern. Against SHU,
Max Edwards (Woodbridge, Va./Radford College) tallied the game-winner with five seconds to go in regulation last Friday night. Two days later, the Eagles found themselves in a 1-0 hole six minutes in versus GSU, before
O'Vonte Mullings (Toronto, Ontario/Northview Heights Secondary HS) scored the equalizer in the 14th minute.
Newcomer
Aiden Jokomba (Anchovy St. James, Jamaica/Cornwall College) gave the Green and Blue a 2-1 lead before the half as the squad would come out of the break with a trio of goals to put the match out of reach.
Ryan Medilah (Paris, France/San Jacinto) leads the squad in goals (three), and points (seven).
Ivan Rosales (Houston, Texas/San Jacinto) is right behind him with two goals thus far while
Shak Adams (Antioch, Tenn./Cane Ridge HS) has a team-best two assists. In between the posts,
Gustavo Vasconcelos (Recife, Brazil/Colegio GGE) has started all four contests, logging 380 minutes with 17 saves.
In The Polls
The Eagles are currently ranked No. 14 in both the United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer.com polls. It's the team's highest ranking since October 2016 in which they were No. 11 (program record).
Scouting the Highlanders
UC Riverside currently holds a 3-1-0 overall record and are coming off a 1-0 loss on the road to SMU. Roberto Garcia-Vargas leads the bunch with two goals and one assists for five points. Daniel Aguirre has been the main facilitator on offense as he's responsible for three assists of the five goals scored by UC Riverside. Edwyn Gutierrez has made all four starts in net, securing nine saves while conceding three goals.
UC Riverside received votes in this week's TopDrawerSoccer poll.
This will be the second all-time meeting between both programs. They played back in 2009 in Las Vegas, Nev., where FGCU took home a 3-0 win.
Scouting the Titans
Cal State Fullerton is 4-0-0 as the Titans are coming off two wins over Loyola (Ill.) (2-1) and Utah Valley (2-0). Both victories helped the squad jump into the top 25 standings (United Soccer Coaches) for the first time this season at No. 23. Christian Pinzon and Oscar Flores have each netted a pair of goals with Pinzon leading the team with three assists for seven points. Paul-Andre Guerin has conceded two goals in four starts, securing four saves.
This will be the second all-time meeting between both clubs. Last year the Eagles and the Titans played to a 1-1 double overtime draw at the Nest.
FGCU Record Book
Points
| 1. |
|
76 - Albert RUIZ (34g 8a) - 2014-17 |
| 2. |
|
51 - Shak Adams (19g 13a) - 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 - Dennis ZAPATA (10g 11a) - 2015-18 |
|
|
31 - Josey PORTILLO (8g 15a) - 2008-11 |
| 9. |
|
30 - Scott HARRISON (12g 6a) - 2008-11 |
|
|
30 - Francesco DiSTEFANO (9g 12a) - 2008-11 |
Goals
| 1. |
|
34 - Albert RUIZ - 2014-17 |
| 2. |
|
19 - Cristian RAUDALES - 2008-11 |
|
|
19 - Shak Adams - 2016-present |
| 4. |
|
18 - Felipe DeSOUSA - 2012-14 |
| 5. |
|
13 - Henry PENAGOS - 2010-14 |
| 6. |
|
12 - Arion SOBERS-ASSUE - 2014-17 |
|
|
12 - Scott HARRISON - 2008-11 |
|
|
12 - Dylan SACRAMENTO - 2015-17 |
| 9. |
|
10 - Dennis ZAPATA - 2015-18 |
|
|
10 - Xavier SILVA - 2011-14 |
Assists
| 1. |
|
15 - Josey PORTILLO - 2008-11 |
| 2. |
|
14 - Arion SOBERS-ASSUE - 2014-17 |
| 3. |
|
13 - Shak Adams - 2016-present |
| 4. |
|
12 - Francesco DiSTEFANO - 2008-11 |
| 5. |
|
11 - Andres NAVAS - 2009-12 |
|
|
11 - Dennis ZAPATA - 2015-18 |
| 7. |
|
10 - Deion JONES - 2009-12 |
| 8. |
|
9 - Skylar WILKS - 2013-15 |
|
|
9 - Miguel JAIME - 2014-17 |
|
|
9 - William MORSE - 2009-12 |
Game-winning Goals
| 1. |
|
8 - Felipe DeSOUSA - 2012-14 |
| 2. |
|
7 - Shak Adams - 2016-present |
| 3. |
|
6 - Cristian RAUDALES - 2008-11 |
| 4. |
|
5 - Xavier SILVA - 2011-14 |
|
|
5 - Albert RUIZ - 2014-17 |
|
|
5 - Henry PENAGOS - 2010-14 |
| 7. |
|
4 - Robert FERRER - 2015-17 |
|
|
4 - Santiago ECHEVERRI - 2011-14 |
|
|
4 - Francesco DiSTEFANO - 2008-11 |
|
|
4 - Arion SOBERS-ASSUE - 2014-17 |
Fall Sports Single-Game, Season and Group Tickets On Sale
Single game tickets for volleyball, men's soccer and women's soccer are on sale now. Prices are $7 for adults and $5 for military/veterans (with ID) and youth (age 15 and under).
Season tickets (entry to each home game) are $55 for volleyball and women's soccer and $40 for men's soccer. Group tickets are $7 for groups of 15 or more and will include reserved seats, group recognition, a group activity and choice of FGCU gear or food. Fall Frequent Flyer passes, which includes a total of 30 entries to all three sports, are just $99.
For all inquiries, you can visit FGCUtickets.com, call 239-590-7145 or stop by the ticket office, which is open daily Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and one hour prior to all home events.
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 20-11-6 (.622) record overall, including a 9-2-2 mark (.773) 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 134-100-53 (.559) record as a head coach in his fourteen plus seasons at the helm.
#FEEDFGCU
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.
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.
