FORT MYERS, Fla. – The long-awaited season for the FGCU men's soccer team kicks off in Miami as the Eagles face the 25th-ranked Panthers to open the year. The match will be limited to 200 spectators.
The Green and Blue
Dating back to the ASUN championship final game in November of 2019, it's been a year and three months since the Eagles have played in a meaningful match. The contest against FIU will be one of two non-conference games slated to be played (Feb. 23 vs FAU) before the start of ASUN play. Last month, FGCU was picked as the league favorite, landing three Eagles on the Preseason All-Conference list.
O'Vonte Mullings was tabbed as the unanimous Preseason Player of the Year,
Gustavo Vasconcelos was named the Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year, while
Titouan Le Menec made the list as one of three defenders. A back-to-back ASUN First Team member,
Mullings (Toronto, Ontario/Northview Heights Secondary HS) led the Eagles in 2019 with 20 points, scoring nine goals while dishing out two assists. He netted three game-winners and logged over 1,600 minutes in 19 games.
In 10 games (all starts) in 2019,
Vasconcelos (Recife, Brazil/Colegio GGE) recorded 36 saves with nearly 900 minutes in between the pipes before an injury cut his season short. In 2018, he was named the ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year. Meanwhile,
Le Menec (Guipavas, France/Bluefield College) has appeared in 34 games for the Eagles in two seasons, accumulating 31 starts with nearly 3,000 minutes on the FGCU backline.
This will be the seventh time in program history the Eagles open their season on the road against a ranked opponent – tomorrow marks the sixth time it's away.
FIU leads the all-time series, 8-4. The last four matches have been split by an average of 1.5 goals with FGCU's last win coming in 2018 (2-1 in Miami).
#25 FIU
The Panthers posted a 10-3-5 mark in 2019, reaching as high as No. 11 in the polls. In two exhibition matches last month, FIU defeated No. 8 UCF, 2-1, and garnered a 2-0 win over USF – both games on the road. TopDrawerSoccer.com has the Panthers with the No. 16 recruiting class when they entered into 2020.
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.
