DELAND, Fla. – A Stetson goal in the closing 10 minutes gave the Hatters (3-8-3, 2-3-1 Atlantic Sun Conference) a 2-1 win Saturday night over the FGCU men’s soccer team (6-6-2, 4-1-1 A-Sun) to snap the Eagles’ seven-match unbeaten streak overall and 11-game unbeaten streak in regular-season league action dating back to last season.

Xavier Silva (Boca Raton, Fla./North Broward Prep) scored FGCU’s lone goal in the 38th minute. His fourth strike of the year tied the junior for second on the club in that category and also tied him for second in points with nine.

Stetson’s game-winner came at the 81:46 mark as JJ Bostic headed home a cross off a set piece from the short corner following an FGCU foul. The goal sent the Eagles to their first loss since Sept. 22 at Seattle, and while they remain atop the A-Sun standings, they are now tied with Northern Kentucky at 13 points and identical 4-1-1 records. FGCU defeated NKU earlier this season, 1-0, to hold the tiebreaker over the Norse, who are ineligible from postseason play due to a Division-I reclassification period.

The loss also was the first in conference play for the Eagles since Oct. 6 of last year at Lipscomb, 3-1. FGCU is now 26-3-2 in A-Sun regular-season games since the start of the 2010 campaign, and all three losses have come on the road. Out of a possible 93 points that could have been earned since 2010, FGCU has swiped an astounding 80 of them (86 percent).

“Tonight was obviously difficult for us, but kudos to Stetson as they made the plays needed to secure a win on Senior Night,” head coach Bob Butehorn said. “We had a few quality chances, but their keeper made some great saves. We need to regroup with a good week of practice and get ready for a tough Jacksonville team next weekend.

Stetson opened the scoring in the 13th minute after a shot originally hit the post and careened back to the Hatters’ player, who beat FGCU keeper Danny George (Safety Harbor, Fla./Countryside HS). The goal was just the second allowed in A-Sun play by the Eagles and second overall dating back to Sept. 27 -  a stretch of seven straight games.

The Eagles had the answer in the closing minutes of the half, however, as Silva finished a cross from the left wing onto the back right post by Will Suedois (Nice, France/Florida Virtual School). Junior Skylar Wilks (Tampa, Fla./Newsome HS) also assisted on the goal for his third helper of the season.

The first half ended with FGCU holding a 5-2 edge in shots and also a 5-1 advantage in corners, while three of those shots were put on frame.

The first good opportunity for either team in the second half came off the head of Felipe DeSousa (Tampa, Fla./Wharton HS) in the 60th minute as his effort missed just left of the frame. A little more than 10 minutes later, George kept the game knotted at 1-1 as he came off his line and cut off the angle of a Stetson player who had a clear left-footed shot at the net.

Following Stetson’s goal, the Green and Blue had one final great chance steered aside by a diving, one-handed save by Andreas Schnabl. The goalkeeper reached back across his body off an FGCU corner as Suedois’s header appeared to be ticketed for the back of the net.

For the match, FGCU out-shot Stetson, 12-6, including 5-3 in shots on goal. The Eagles also had nine corners compared with three for the Hatters, who were whistled for 22 fouls and issued three yellow cards in a physical contest which also saw FGCU called for 18 fouls and handed two yellow cards.

The game was the nightcap of an FGCU-Stetson doubleheader as earlier in the day the Eagles’ women’s soccer team wrapped up an unbeaten A-Sun regular season title with a dominant 4-0 victory on the strength of a hat trick from Player of the Year nominee Tabby Tindell.

FGCU welcomes Jacksonville to The Nest for its final home game of the regular season Saturday, Nov. 2, at 7 p.m. A Nov. 9 game at North Florida will be the Eagles final regular-season game and will serve as the last tune-up for the conference tournament beginning the following week.

2013-14 men’s soccer tickets are available by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office, calling 239-590-7145 or logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets. Single-game tickets can be purchased for $6 per adult and $3 for youth. Groups of 10+ can receive a discounted rate of $3 per person. FGCU students and faculty/staff are admitted for free with a valid University ID.

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