DELAND, Fla. – The 2nd-seeded FGCU men's soccer team (3-4-4) fell in the ASUN Championship game to top-seeded Jacksonville (7-4-1), 2-0, Sunday afternoon at the Athletic Training Center on the campus of Stetson University.
Originally scheduled for Saturday night, FGCU held a 2-0 lead at Jacksonville's stadium before rain and unplayable conditions canceled the game, declaring it a "no-contest" since it had not gone the full 70 minutes to become official. This caused the match to be moved to Sunday afternoon.
"We didn't have it today. We tried to replicate what we did last night, but fell short," said head men's soccer coach
Jesse Cormier. "I'm extremely proud of how our team responded this season to all of the challenges we've faced and the times we've risen to be exceptional, despite all of it. We will learn from this season and be prepared to take it a step further in the fall."
Both teams were scoreless at the half as FGCU posted four shots with three coming on frame. Meanwhile, JU launched seven shots (two on frame). Each side posted one corner kick in the first 45 minutes.
In the 56th minute, keeper
Gustavo Vasconcelos (Recife, Brazil/Colegio GGE) saw the first shot of the second period come his way for the save as moments later
O'Vonte Mullings (Toronto, Ontario/Northview Heights) launched a high shot to keep the match knotted 0-0. JU though, got on the board in the 60th minute thanks to a goal from the eventual MVP, Connor Lufkin. Seven minutes later, Lufkin struck once again to give Jacksonville the 2-0 margin.
From there, the Eagles continued to press but manufactured one shot in the final 20 minutes along with one corner. In total, FGCU produced eight shots (two on goal) with
Marcos Da Paz (Recife, Brazil/Fayetteville Academy/Columbia International) and
Ethan Dudley (St. Johns, Fla./Bartram Trail HS) recording two apiece. In net, Vasconcelos secured four saves.
Jacksonville launched 11 shots (six on goal) with Reed Davis shooting three. Keeper Matt Levy snagged two saves in the process.
All-Tournament Team
Connor Lufkin (MVP, Jacksonville)
Cao Chaves (Jacksonville)
Olivier Correa (Jacksonville)
Reed Davis (Jacksonville)
Nil Ringstrand (Jacksonville)
Ethan Dudley (FGCU)
O'Vonte Mullings (FGCU)
Gustavo Vasconcelos (FGCU)
Noah Gulden (Lipscomb)
William Turner (Lipscomb)
LJ Estes (North Florida)
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 29-23-11 (.547) record overall, including a 15-5-4 mark (.708) 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 143-111-57 (.551) 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 40 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 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall 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.
