FORT MYERS, Fla. – With a limited capacity of 50 FGCU students per current University policy, the Green team walked away with a 3-2 win over the Blue Team Friday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
Before kickoff, the Eagles honored
Connor Gavigan (Aurora, Colo./Creighton) and
Noah Bushey (Spokane, Wash./New Mexico) as the pair will depart FGCU upon graduation in December.
"It was a success to get the 90 minutes in tonight," said head coach
Jesse Cormier. "I thought overall it was competitive and both teams were playing to win. The Blue Team in the second half started to battle back and found opportunities and could've tied it up. The Green Team was dominant in the first half and really got after it. I don't think realistically you can expect these guys to be 90-minute sharp yet but it's been a long process and to get them out there, have a competitive game, and score some good goals was good to see. We can build off this for sure."
A pair of newcomers connected with each other to get the Green Team on the board just past the 15th-minute mark.
Steven Saunders (Rockledge, Fla./Jacksonville) sent a set-piece from just outside the 15-yard box to the far post where
Markus Maurer (Heidenheim, Germany/Monroe College) one-timed it for the score. Three minutes later, the Blue Team knotted the affair with a score by
Alex Guichard (West Palm Beach, Fla./Charleston). Gavigan launched a kick from his own box that sailed past the midfield stripe as Guichard gathered it with one man to beat, tucking it past the far-left post.
With a little over 10 minutes left in the first half,
Darius Kerr-Cooper (Pickering, Ontario/St. Mary's HS) crossed a pass to his left finding Maurer as he slotted it past the keeper's left post. Another quick strike arrived a few minutes later as Kerr-Cooper gave the Green Team a 3-1 lead heading into the half. Streaking down the left-wing,
Alexander Mollinedo (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg HS) crossed a left-footed shot into the box where Kerr-Cooper slid in for the one-touch finish.
The Blue team made it a one-score game 12 minutes into the second half courtesy of a
Martin Veys (Caen France/Nebraska Omaha) strike. Playing along the right side of the 15-yard box,
Trevin Myers (Lehigh Acres, Fla./Chowan University) flicked a pass to his right to Veys who zipped it past the keeper's near left-post. In the end, the Green Team staved off the Blue squad's comeback attempt denying a few shots down the stretch for the narrow 3-2 win.
The Green Team recorded nine total shots as the keepers combined for two saves while the Blue Team took eight shots with three saves between the pipes.
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 fourth year 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 26-19-7 (.567) record overall, including a 13-3-2 mark (.778) in ASUN play. The Eagles have reached the ASUN Tournament semifinals for nine-straight seasons (every year of eligibility), as Cormier has coached 23 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 140-108-54 (.553) record as a head coach in his fifteen-plus seasons at the helm.
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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 82 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. 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. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
