MACON, Ga. – A pair of Eagles goals within the last four minutes of the second half proved to be the difference maker as FGCU (3-0-1) defeated 2021 SoCon champions and NCAA Tournament qualifier Mercer (2-2-2), on Sunday evening at Betts Stadium. The Eagles will return to action on Friday, Sept. 16 as they open ASUN play at Jacksonville (2-2-1).

Graduate forward Jovoney Brown  (Savanna-La-Mar, Jamaica/North Florida) delivered the first goal of the match and for the Eagles and his first for the season with a header that was assisted by junior midfielder Landon Ameres (Palmetto, Fla./Virginia Tech) that stunned the keeper. In the second half senior Davi Alves (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/West Florida) tied the match with a shot off a pass from graduate midfielder Abdul Kuku (Sydney, Australia/Seattle) that connected into the left side of the net. That was Alves second goal of the season.

With under a minute remaining in the game, graduate forward Aedon Kyra (Sydney, Australia./UNLV) received a pass into the box from junior midfielder Jahvanie Hammond (Lauderhill, Fla./Coral Glades HS) to score the final goal of the match and second of the season.. Junior keeper Wyatt Kistner (Midlothian, Va. /Cosby HS),allowed two goals but had five saves for the afternoon.

 "What a game, to go on the road, play down a man in both games and still get both results in the ultimate testament to the heart and character of this team," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "They're a brotherhood that refuse to give in even in the most dire circumstances.  Mercer are warriors, conference championship, NCAA tournament caliber team, to come back and find a way to win tells everyone what ambition is this season." This victory is Cormier's 150th career win and the 36th overall for the Eagles.

Overall, FGCU had 18 shots with nine on goal while Mercer had nine shots with seven on target. The game saw a total of seven yellow cards issued throughout the afternoon with the Eagles picking up four and Brown being issued a red card and ejected from the game at 72nd minute due to receiving a yellow card just seven minutes before.

Mercer opened the scoring very quickly in the seventh minute as Michael Ille sent a penalty kick strike that connected to the back of the net. Junior keeper Wyatt Kistner (Midlothian, Va. /Cosby HS), who has earned three shutouts this season, was unable to save it and the Bears took the 1-0 lead.

The Eagles valiantly attempted to get on the scoreboard with two shots from Kyra followed by a shot each from senior Aiden Jokomba  (Anchovy ST James, Jamaica/Cornwall College), Nadav Ohayon (Herzliya, Israel/Nomi Shemer), freshman Alon Drey (Or, 'Aqiva/Israel) and graduate student Timon Zech (Starnberg, Germany/LSUE).

With a minute  left on the clock for the first half, Brown scored the equalizer to head to the locker room tied at one. In the second half both teams came out firing with two shots on goal before Brown was ejected from the game. The Bears capitalized and scored as Angel Gonzalez took a pass from Kadeem Agard and pushed the score to 2-1 at the 80^th minute.

With a man down FGCU responded at the 86th  minute later as Alves scored to once again even the match, 2-2. Then at the 89th minute Mercer was shocked as Hammond passed the ball into the box and Kyra buried it in the left side of the net to seal the victory.
 
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 36-31-13 (.521) record overall, including a 19-9-4 mark (.656) 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 150-120-59 (.543) 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 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 42 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 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. 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--