FORT MYERS, Fla. – Looking to stay in the hunt for a spot in the upcoming ASUN Championship Tournament, the FGCU men's soccer team heads to North Florida on Saturday night for a key league match-up. Kickoff is set for 7 PM at Hodges Stadium with the match streamed live through the UNF athletics website.
The Eagles (2-7-1, 2-3-0 ASUN) are currently tied with the Ospreys (4-5-1, 2-3-0 ASUN) for fourth in the league standings. Both teams share the spot with Bellarmine, Jacksonville, and Liberty meaning all six seeds in the championship tournament are still up for grabs. Central Arkansas leads the ASUN with a 9-4 overall record and a 4-1 mark in league action. Lipscomb and Stetson are tied for second with 3-2 records in ASUN matches. The final playoff picture will come down to next Saturday's regular-season finale.
FGCU is coming off a tough result last Saturday that saw Lipscomb earn a 2-1 overtime win in Nashville. The Eagles led 1-0 at halftime and carried the advantage through the second half until the Bisons tied the match with one second to go. Lipscomb held serve at home with the game-winning goal in the 99
th minute.
For the season,
O'Vonte Mullings (Toronto, Ontario/Northview Heights) continues to pace the offense with a team-high and league-best six goals. Mullings also ranks fifth in the ASUN in points (12) for the year.
Markus Maurer (Friedrichshafen, Germany/Monroe College) became the fifth different player to tally a goal on the year joining Mullings,
Aiden Jokomba (Anchovy St. James, Jamaica/Cornwell College),
Jahvanie Hammond (Lauderhill, Fla./Coral Glades HS), and
Timon Zech (Starnberg, Germany/Louisiana State Eunice College).
Mullings scored four in a one-week stretch to earn ASUN Player of the Week honors on Sept. 22. His six goals this season have moved him into second all-time at FGCU as he now has 27 in his four years passing Shak Adams who had 23 from 2016-19. He also now has 60 career points which puts him two shy of passing Adams (62) there as well. Albert Ruiz holds the FGCU career records for both goals (34) and points (76) from 2014-17.
Keeper
Gustavo Vasconcelos (Recife, Brazil/Colegio GGE) enters the match with a 1.93 goals-against-average and a 0.727 save percentage to go with two shutouts and a 2-5-0 record. He leads the league in save percentage, ranks second in saves (40), and ranks third in GAA.
All-time, FGCU holds a 12-2-5 record against North Florida though the last five meetings have witnessed three draws. The most recent match-up came in the ASUN Quarterfinals last year which saw a 1-1 draw after two overtimes before FGCU earned the right to advance on penalty kicks (5-3).
The Ospreys have won two consecutive matches against Lipscomb (2-0) and Stetson (1-0) entering the weekend. That snapped a four-match losing skid. UNF is led offensively by Joaquin Acuna who has four goals, while Jovoney Brown and Bendeguz Burka each have two. Five others have notched at least one goal on the season. Padraic Gilley and Carlos Melendez have split time in goal with Gilley playing the last four. He holds a 1.45 GAA and a 0.690 save percentage for the year.
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. You can also sign-up to have news on FGCU men's soccer and all 15 sport programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting
www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
HEAD COACH JESSE CORMIER
Jesse Cormier is in his fifth year as head coach of the FGCU men's soccer program in the fall of 2021 after being hired in January of 2017 to become just the 2nd head coach in program history. Cormier has guided FGCU to a 31-29-12 (.504) record overall, including a 17-8-4 mark (.640) in ASUN play. The Eagles have reached the ASUN Tournament semifinals for nine-straight seasons (every year of eligibility), as Cormier has coached 28 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 145-116-58 (.551) record as a head coach in his 16-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 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 42 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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 in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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.
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--
