FORT MYERS, Fla. – FGCU men's soccer head coach Jesse Cormier  has signed two incoming transfers for the upcoming 2023 season, adding junior striker  Shoki Yoshida (Hyogo, Japan/Kobe Koryo Gakuen High School/Wilmington/Arizona Western College) and graduate forward Gustavo Ferrari (Silverdale, Wash./Grande Cache High School /Indiana University East/San Francisco State).
 
Yoshida played in 19 games last season at Arizona Western, starting 15, and produced eight goals and an assist. He delivered four shots on goal and produced one to help the Matadors defeat Laramie County Community College. 
 
He also scored a goal in each AW victory against Imperial Valley, Gateway Community College, Glendale Community College, Pima Community College, Yavapai College, Snow College, and Salt Lake Community College. 
 
Yoshida's strike against Pima came in overtime to give his team the ACCAC Title. Yoshida also delivered a penalty against Salt Lake to help his team book a spot in NJCAA championship game. He played in the national title game and had one shot on goal. For the season he registered 31 shots, with 15 on goal.  
 
Before Arizona Western, Yosida attended Wilmington University and appeared in 20 games with 11 starts as a freshman. He made his collegiate debut with two goals against Bently, he was also named to the CCAC All-Tournament Team
 
"Shoki is a great addition to our attack," Cormier said. "His ability to diagnose the right decision, and skill to pass at full speed on top of his finishing ability, will make him a dual threat during his time here." 
 
Ferrari led San Francisco State in scoring two years in a row, and produced six goals in 2022 while adding two assists. He appeared in all 17 matches for SFS in 2022,  starting 16. In 2021 he was named to the D2 CCA All-American Second Team and the United Soccer Coaches West Region First Team. Ferrari won the CCAA Offensive Player of the Year award after breaking the school's program's single season record of 14 goals. 
 
Before San Francisco State, Ferrari spent two seasons At NAIA member Indiana University East – where he was named to All-River State Conference First Team. He was ranked third in the NAIA in 2020 in points per game with 2.92 and led the team with 14 goals and seven assists.  
 
During his freshman year at IU East, Ferrari became the program's first All-River States Conference First Team honoree and was the leader in goals with 11. He finished the season as IU East program career leader in assists.  
 
The Eagles finished 2022 at 8-5-4 overall and 3-2-3 in the ASUN Conference and was the only ASUN team to upset No. 10 Lipscomb. 
 
HEAD COACH JESSE CORMIER
Jesse Cormier will enter his seventh year as head coach of the FGCU men's soccer program in the fall of 2023 after being hired in January of 2017 to become just the second head coach in program history. Cormier has guided FGCU to a 41-36-16 (.539) record overall, including a 22-12-6 mark (.659) in ASUN play. The Eagles have reached the ASUN Tournament semifinals for 10 of 11 seasons (every year of eligibility but one), as Cormier has coached 31 all-conference selections since his arrival, including a program-record 10 in 2017. Cormier was the head coach at his alma mater the University of Vermont from 2004-2016. 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 155-125-62 (.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 (https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/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 https://www.fgcu.edu/adminservices/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.

ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 98 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15-plus seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11-plus seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 48 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Nine FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 20 in 2021-22 and No. 22 in 2022-23), baseball (No. 15 in 2023), beach volleyball (No. 20 in 2022), and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as five of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green & 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 3.67 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2022 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 27 consecutive semesters. The past seven semesters (Fall 2019 – Fall 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--