Box Score DeLand, Fla. – FGCU men's soccer (7-4-4, 3-2-3 ASUN) could not recover from a first half barrage from Stetson (6-3-6, 4-2-2 ASUN) and dropped a 6-3 decision on Tuesday evening.

"Not close to the level and standard of performance we needed tonight to realistically win this game.  We started poorly defensively as a team and conceded goals and gave Stetson early life," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "After going down, I thought we created some good moments on the attacking end to get us back into the game, but couldn't sustain it and allowed them to get the edge and the important goal in the second half. We're disappointed, but will use it to improve our mindset and preparation for Saturday."
 
Overall, the Hatters outshot the Eagles, 11-7, while having seven shots on goal to FGCU's four. The Hatters had 6-4 advantage on corner kicks.

Senior Aiden Jokomba (Anchovy, St. James, Jamaica) scored the first goal for the Eagles and the second for the season in the 6th minute from an assist by graduate student Aedon Kyra (Sydney, Australia/UNLV). Sophomore midfielder Aaron Markowitz  (Plantation, Florida) scored the second goal of the half for

FGCU off a cross from freshman defender Anthony Gagliardi II (Hubbard, Ohio/Slippery Rock) in the 27^th minute.

In the first half, the Hatters wasted no time getting on the scoreboard as Alessandro Gabbani scored in the second minute to give Stetson the 1-0 lead. With only four minutes gone by Andres Mata would capitalize and push the Hatters lead to 2-0.

Florida Gulf Coast responded as Kyra passed the ball to Jokomba who then buried the ball in the right side of the net to trail 2-1. This was Jokomba's second goal and Kyra's first assist of the season.

Stetson's Lara Luis Delgado answered the Eagles' goal and received a pass from Gabriel Toro before firing a shot to take a 3-1 advantage. At the 10^th minute Mata scored his second goal of the night and push the lead to three goals.

FGCU's Gagliardi sent a perfect cross to Markowitz who buried the ball in the lower right side of the net and cut the advantage to 4-2 in the 27^th minute.

Sophomore forward Pau Santanach (Barcelona, Spain) took the final shot of the half but it did not connect in the 44^th minute.

In the second half, both teams took three shots before the Hatters were rewarded in the 68^th minute as Delgado scored his second goal of the game and gave Stetson a 5-2 lead. Stetson scored its final goal of the game after being rewarded a penalty and Alex Fuentes delivered for a four-goal advantage.

The Eagles closed the gap in the 90^th minute as graduate student Jovoney Brown (Savanna-La-Mar, Jamaica) crossed the ball to junior midfielder Jack Bole (Naples, Fla./UNC Greensboro) who scored his first career goal to close the gap to 6-3 and end the game.

The Eagles will now prepare for the ASUN Tournament as they head to Nashville in fourth place with 12 points. Regular season champions Lipscomb is first with 21 points and Stetson claimed the third spot tonight with this victory and has 14 points.
 
FGCU will face off against No. 5 seed North Florida (4-7-4, 3-3-2) on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 8 p.m. EST. The winner between the Eagles and Ospreys will then play No. 1 seed, Lipscomb, on Nov. 7.

Hurricane Ian Recovery
For information on how you can help out in the Hurricane Ian recovery efforts, please visit fgcu.edu/HurricaneIan.
  
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 sixth year as head coach of the FGCU men's soccer program in the fall of 2022 after being hired in January of 2017 to become just the 2nd head coach in program history. Cormier has guided FGCU to a 40-34-16 (.539) record overall, including a 22-11-6 mark (.659) 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 154-123-62 (.547) 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 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative 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.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--