FORT MYERS, Fla- The Florida Gulf Coast University men's soccer team delivered an offensive barrage Saturday to defeat Eckerd College 6-1 at Pickering Field for its first exhibition match of the season.
 
Junior Shoki Yoshida sent a perfect corner kick to Graduate student Jonathan Bryant, who delivered a header in the 22nd minute to start the Eagles' six goals.
 
"I really liked that we were patient and it was a good start, but we still have a lot of work to do," head coach Jesse Cormier said. "We pressed really well and created a number of opportunities."
 
Overall, FGCU had 21 shots, while the Tritons had 10. Junior Wyatt Kistner  earned the victory by making four saves. At the 27th-minute, senior Luke Peperak increased the Green & Blue's lead courtesy of an assist by Yoshida.
 
Six minutes later, newcomer Junior Niall Reid-Stephen hit a low precision ball that snuck in the left side of the goal. Freshman Caylan Lawrence added his name to the stat sheet with the assist. The Eagles went into halftime up 3-0.
 
FGCU continued its offensive dominance in the second half as sophomore Pau Santanach redirected a cross ball from Reid-Stephen, who picked up a long-range diagonal cross-field pass from sophomore Shachar Nissim at the 50th minute.

Sophomore Jaffer Murphy added another goal on the scoreboard for the Eagles. Sophomore Jacob Tatebe assisted the previous goal and then took the spotlight as he fired a shot outside the penalty area to give the Green & Blue's final goal of the evening. 
 
Eckerd responded in the 87th minute with its lone goal.
 
FGCU will return to action Thursday, August 17, as they host the University of Tampa at Pickering Field. Kickoff is at 2:30 p.m., and all the action will be streamed on ESPN+.