DELAND, Fla. – The FGCU men's soccer team (2-1-3, 2-0-2 ASUN) walked out with a 0-0 draw against Stetson (0-3-2, 0-2-2 ASUN), earning a hard-fought point on the road to stay in first place of the South Division table Friday night.
The draw bumps FGCU's unbeaten streak to five games, conceding just three goals during that stretch.
"I thought we played very well in overtime but Stetson also played well, they deserve a lot of credit," said head coach
Jesse Cormier. "I'm disappointed in the result, but I think the guys are realizing that getting points on the road, in this conference, you have to play at an optimal level. We wanted to get three but we only go one. So we'll look at the film when we get back and figure out some of the things we need to get better at. I'm proud of the fact that we didn't concede, got a clean sheet, and now we'll prepare for Jacksonville next weekend on the road."
FGCU outshot Stetson 8-5 in the first half, firing three on frame. In the 18th minute,
O'Vonte Mullings' (Toronto, Ontario/Northview Secondary Heights) shot from outside the 15-yard box was blocked as the keeper ran off his line to meet Mullings at the top of the white stripe. In the 26th minute,
Alex Guichard's (West Palm Beach, Fla./American Heritage/Charleston) attempt was saved at the bottom center of the box. Seconds before the halftime whistle, Mullings fired one to the bottom left post but it was stopped as the ensuing rebound shot went wide for
Michael Luke (Parkland, Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas/UNC Asheville). Keeper
Gustavo Vasconcelos (Recife, Brazil/Colegio GGE) only save of the first period came minutes before in the 42nd tick.
Each side in the second period launched four shots but three from Stetson were on target as Vasconcelos was quickly put to work, securing one in the 48th minute. The other two arrived in the 70th minute and in the 87th minute to ensure that FGCU headed into overtime.
From there, the Eagles tallied eight shots between the pair of overtime periods with one coming on target in the 102nd minute off the boot of
Marcos Da Paz (Recife, Brazil/Fayetteville Academy/Columbia International).
All said FGCU recorded season-high marks in shots (20) and corner kicks (nine). Vasconcelos tied a season-mark in saves with five as he moved to 2-1-3 in between the pipes, securing his second clean sheet of the season.
On offense, Mullings, Da Paz, and
Jahvanie Hammond (Lauderhill, Fla./Coral Glades HS) each produced three shots apiece with two coming on goal from Mullings.
Up Next
FGCU will travel to Jacksonville to face the Dolphins on Saturday, Mar. 27 at 7 p.m.
ASUN Standings
South Division Table
| School |
Points |
ASUN |
Overall |
| FGCU |
8 |
2-0-2 |
2-1-3 |
| Jacksonville |
6 |
2-1-0 |
2-3-1 |
| North Florida |
2 |
0-1-2 |
2-2-2 |
| Stetson |
2 |
0-2-2 |
0-3-2 |
North Division Table
| School |
Points |
ASUN |
Overall |
| Bellarmine |
6 |
2-0-0 |
3-2-0 |
| Lipscomb |
3 |
1-1-0 |
5-3-0 |
| Liberty |
0 |
0-2-0 |
5-2-1 |
Upcoming Games
Saturday, Mar. 20 – Lipscomb @ #19 Coastal Carolina (1pm)
Saturday, Mar. 20 – Bellarmine @ Liberty (2pm)
Saturday, Mar. 20 – Jacksonville @ North Florida (7pm)
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 28-20-10 (.569) record overall, including a 15-3-4 mark (.772) 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 142-108-56 (.556) 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 85 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.
