JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The FGCU men's soccer team (0-1-2, 0-0-1 ASUN) came away with a hard-fought point on the road as the Eagles battled to a 0-0 draw against North Florida (2-1-1, 0-0-1 ASUN) Saturday afternoon at Patton Park.

"It was a very difficult environment but I thought our guys adjusted and defended very well with a lot of heart and pride," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "We got a lot of contribution from guys who haven't played much or at all. They came together as a team and showed a lot of grit. It's a point on the road and to get a clean sheet and defend the way we did is a real positive note and a good step in the right direction."

Despite have no shots on target, FGCU registered five shots Saturday afternoon. The pressure for both squads really picked up in the second half. Gustavo Vasconcelos (Recife, Brazil/Colegio GGE) kept the Ospreys off the board in the 48th minute picking up a deflection off his own teammate. Inside 86 minutes, the Brazilian keeper followed it up with back-to-back saves to ensure his squad would go into extra time.

The only shot taken by FGCU in extra time came off the foot of freshman Jahvanie Hammond (Lauderhill, Fla./Coral Glades HS) in the 104th minute. UNF registered three in overtime but all went wide of the mark. Vasconcelos ended his day with three saves en route to his first clean sheet of the season.

UNF outshot FGCU, 17-5 as three were on target and won the corner kick battle, 10-2. 

Up Next
FGCU continues ASUN play welcoming Jacksonville (1-2-1, 1-0-0 ASUN) next Saturday, March 6 at 7 p.m.

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 26-20-9 (.472) record overall, including a 13-3-3 mark (.684) 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 140-108-55 (.462) record as a head coach in his sixteen-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 83 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.