CONWAY, Ark. – Bellarmine scored a pair of unanswered goals to defeat the FGCU men's soccer team 2-1 on Friday night in the ASUN Quarterfinals hosted by Central Arkansas. The loss ends the season for the Eagles at 4-8-1 overall after the Green and Blue won three of its final four regular-season matches to finish third in the ASUN standings (4-3-0). The Knights (7-7-2, 2-4-1), who were seeded sixth in the tournament, will move on to the ASUN Semifinal to face second-seeded Central Arkansas.
 
"We scored the goal that should have tilted the game in our favor. We felt the goal would force Bellarmine to come out of their defensive shell and give us more opportunities to open them up," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "Unfortunately, we missed a chance, and played nervously. They were able to find the set plays they needed to impose their identity and find the moments they needed to get the result and move on. I feel for our seniors, they've had a difficult season, and we were hoping to make a run deep into the playoffs. It just wasn't meant to be.  We will scrutinize and recalibrate to be better this offseason and look to make a stronger push in 2022 start-to-finish."
 
Overall, FGCU held a 15-to-6 advantage in shots with each side placing four on frame. The Eagles also held a 6-to-5 edge in corner kicks.
 
O'Vonte Mullings (Toronto, Ontario/Northview Heights) scored the match's opening goal in the 60^th minute after slotting his seventh marker of the season into the low right side of the goal.
 
In the 72^nd minute, Bellarmine's Camden Dunne tied the match after connecting on a loose ball following a corner kick service that was bounced around the 18-yard box and snuck through a scrum of players in front of FGCU keeper Gustavo Vasconcelos (Recife, Brazil/Colegio GGE).
 
The Knights took the lead in the 82^nd minute when Micah Linscott headed home the go-ahead goal off another corner service by Brock Pope.
 
In the balance of regulation, the Eagles were able to generate a pair of shots from Mullings and Marcos Da Paz (Recife, Brazil/Fayetteville Academy/Columbia International) while also earning a corner kick, however, they were unable to find the equalizer.
 
Vasconcelos finished the match with two saves, while his Bellarmine counterpart, Connor Range, made three saves in the win.
 
Mullings' seven goals this season have moved him into second all-time at FGCU as he now has 28 in his four years passing Shak Adams who had 23 from 2016-19. He also now has 63 career points which also passed Adams (62) there as well. Albert Ruiz holds the FGCU career records for both goals (34) and points (76) from 2014-17.
 
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 33-31-12 (.520) record overall, including an 19-9-4 mark (.656) in ASUN play. The Eagles have reached the ASUN Tournament semifinals for nine of 10 seasons (every year of eligibility but one), as Cormier has coached 31 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 147-120-58 (.543) 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--