FORT MYERS, Fla. – FGCU men's soccer (3-1-2, 0-0-1 ASUN) battled against 2021 NCAA Tournament qualifier Louisville (4-2-1, 0-1-1 ACC) for 56 minutes before allowing one goal to drop a 1-0 decision on Monday evening at Pickering Field. This loss is the first for the Eagles this season after their best five-game start in the program's history. FGCU has only played one conference match thus far and resulted in a 1-1 draw against Jacksonville on Friday, they are currently ranked fifth in the ASUN conference.

Both the Eagles and Cardinals received votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches' poll with Louisville being just four spots out of the top-25.
Graduate forward Jovoney Brown (Savanna-La-Mar, Jamaica / North Florida) had the most shots with three and one on goal.

"We didn't play well enough to win when you are playing one of the better teams, a team that is nationally ranked in the country you have to play at a higher tempo" said head coach Jesse Cormier. "We just didn't have it tonight, we were not cutting edge, so we have to fix the issue around our quality and get it right for Friday night."

Overall, the Cardinals narrowly outshot the Eagles, 10-8 while having three shots on goal to FGCU's two. The Eagles had an 8-3 advantage on corner kicks.

The game saw a total of seven yellow cards with the Eagles receiving five.
Sophomore goalkeeper Wyatt Kistner (Midlothian/Va. /Cosby HS) only allowed one goal while making two saves and recorded his first loss of the season.

In the first half both teams battled for their chance to take the lead, but the Cardinals recorded five shots to FGCU's one which came in the 24^th minute when Brown fired the ball to the bottom left side of the net only to see it saved by Ryan Troutman.

In the second half, both teams took a shot within the first ten minutes but the Cardinals would be rewarded at the 56^th minute mark to take the 1-0 lead.

FGCU kept pressing on in search of the equalizer as sophomore defender Lucas Windschauer's (Tampa, Fla./Osceola HS) attempted shot landed on top of the net in the 63^rd minute followed by junior midfielder Landon Ameres' (Palmeto, Fla./Virginia Tech) shot being saved.

The final shot of the game came from senior forward Aiden Jokmba (Anchovy St. James, Jamaica/Cornwall College), but it did not connect in the 88^th minute and the Cardinals sealed the victory.

FGCU picked up a number of accolades last week as coach Jesse Cormier earned his 150^th win on 9/11 against Mercer, followed by graduate forward Aedon Kyra (Sydney, Australia/UNLV) being named ASUN Player of the Week on 9/13 for his game-winning goal against the Bears.

One day later the United Soccer Coaches announced FGCU as second in the Atlantic Region poll behind 21^st nationally ranked Lipscomb.

FGCU will return to action later this week remaining home as they take on Liberty on Friday evening at 7 p.m.

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 36-32-14 (.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 150-121-60 (.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--