Matchup: No. 2 FGCU (8-5-3) vs. No. 6 Lipscomb (9-7-2)
When: Sunday, Nov. 5 | 1 PM
Where: Fort Myers, Fla. | FGCU Soccer Complex
Links: Tickets | Video | Live Stats
ASUN Championship: Tournament Bracket | Tournament Central
Promotion: Canned Food Drive
Series: Lipscomb: FGCU Leads, 9-3-1
Coaches: Jesse Cormier (1st Season @ FGCU (8-5-3); 14th Overall (121-94-50)) | Charles Morrow (13th Season @ Lipscomb (99-122-24); 15th Overall (118-135-30))

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The 2nd-seeded FGCU men’s soccer team begins its quest for a fifth ASUN Championship title in seven years of eligibility on Sunday afternoon at 1 by hosting 6th-seeded Lipscomb in a semifinal contest.

 

OPENING KICK

Lipscomb and No. 3 NJIT played to a 3-3 tie on Friday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex in the second of two ASUN First Round matches. While the match officially was recorded as a tie, Lipscomb advanced to the ASUN Semifinal with a 3-0 triumph in penalty kicks. In the other First Round contest Friday, 4th-seeded North Florida out-shot 5th-seeded Jacksonville, 25-6, but the Dolphins emerged victories with a 2-1 decision on the campus of top-seeded Stetson. JU advances to play the Hatters in the other ASUN Semifinal on Sunday afternoon in DeLand.

 

The Championship Final will take place next Saturday, Nov. 11, on the campus of the highest remaining seed.

 

ASUN STANDINGS (By Championship Seed)

Team	PTS	ASUN	OVERALL
No. 1 Stetson	14	4-0-2	7-6-2
No. 2 FGCU	13	4-1-1	8-5-3
No. 3 NJIT	10	3-2-1	8-7-4
No. 4 North Florida	7	2-3-1	3-10-2
No. 5 Jacksonville	7	2-3-1	5-9-1
No. 6 Lipscomb	6	2-4-0	9-7-2
USC Upstate	3	1-5-0	3-10-2

 

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

It will mark the second-straight year that the Eagles and Lipscomb have met at the FGCU Soccer Complex in an ASUN semifinal. Last season, the Green and Blue scored a double-overtime winner to take down the Bisons, 3-2.

 

While FGCU holds a dominant 9-3-1 edge in the all-time series, eight of 12 matches (not including the tie) have been decided by one goal. After Lipscomb won the first meeting in 2007, 2-0, FGCU claimed four-straight 2-1 victories. While the contests between the two sides have been close, they have also produced plenty of offense as there have only been four total shutouts in the 13 meetings: the aforementioned Lipscomb clean sheet in 2007, and then FGCU wins in 2013 (1-0), 2015 (4-0) and earlier this year (2-0).

 

The only tie in the series came in the regular-season finale last year in Nashville, 1-1 – a result which gave the Eagles the No. 2 seed in the ASUN Championship and subsequent hosting responsibilities for the semifinal match.

 

In the regular-season matchup this year, FGCU ran its winning streak at the time to five in a row behind goals from Robert Ferrer and Dylan Sacramento in the 22nd and 69th minutes, respectively. In net, Connor Gavigan secured his fifth shutout of the campaign.

 

ASUN First Team member Logan Paynter is Lipscomb’s top scorer as he finished the regular season with eight goals to rank 2nd in the league. Christopher Zappia has played every minute of the season in net and has a 1.60 goals-against average entering the ASUN Championship with a .714 save percentage.

 

FGCU ASUN CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

Since becoming postseason eligible for the 2011 season, FGCU has claimed four of the six ASUN Championship titles it has been a part of, going 8-2-0 in 10 contests. The Eagles have never been seeded lower than 2nd. FGCU went 2-0 in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2016 en route to tournament titles, with the losses coming in the 2013 semifinals as the No. 1 seed at home against 5th-seeded North Florida, and in 2015 again in the semifinals as the top seed versus 4th-seeded USC Upstate in overtime.

 

FGCU’s eight ASUN Championship victories in only six seasons are more than any other current team in the league with the exception of Stetson – which has 10 victories and has been playing in the postseason since 1985.

 

Below is a look at FGCU’s all-time ASUN Championship results:

 

2011 (No. 1 Seed | Johnson City, Tenn.)

Semifinals: 2-1 Win vs. No. 4 Mercer

Final: 1-0 Win vs. No. 6 ETSU

All-Tournament Team Members: Nathan Ingham (MVP), Xavier Silva, Josey Portillo, Scott Harrison, Cristian Raudales

 

2012 (No. 1 Seed | Fort Myers, Fla.)

Semifinals: 2-1 Win vs. No. 5 Lipscomb

Final: 1-0 Win vs. No. 2 Mercer (OT)

All-Tournament Team Members: Santiago Echeverri (MVP), Federico Crespo, Felipe DeSousa, Daniel Stanese

 

2013 (No. 1 Seed | Fort Myers, Fla.)

Semifinals: 2-1 Loss vs. No. 5 North Florida

All-Tournament Team Members: David Robledo, Henry Penagos

 

2014 (No. 2 Seed | Nashville, Tenn.)

Semifinals: 2-0 Win vs. No. 6 Northern Kentucky

Final: 1-0 Win vs. No. 4 North Florida

All-Tournament Team Members: Nathan Ingham (MVP), Felipe DeSousa, Santiago Echeverri, Will Suedois

 

2015 (No. 1 Seed | Fort Myers, Fla.)

Semifinals: 4-3 Loss vs. No. 4 USC Upstate (OT)

All-Tournament Team Members: Albert Ruiz, Rodrigo Saravia

 

2016 (No. 2 Seed | Fort Myers, Fla.)

Semifinals: 3-2 Win vs. No. 3 Lipscomb (2 OT)

Final: 3-2 Win vs. No. 5 Jacksonville

All-Tournament Team Members: Albert Ruiz (MVP), Eli Roubos, Miguel Jaime, Kamar Marriott

 

ASUN AWARDS

FGCU had a program-record 10 players named to ASUN postseason teams on Wednesday, highlighted by Nicolas Samayoa being named the unanimous ASUN Defensive Player of the Year.

 

Samayoa (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Colegio Valle Verde) becomes the third FGCU member to win ASUN Defensive Player of the Year, joining Aaron Guillen in 2015 and Adam Glick in 2010. Additionally, it marks the third-straight year that an Eagle has won either the ASUN Player of the Year or ASUN Defensive Player of the Year.

 

Reigning ASUN Player of the Year Ruiz (Barcelona, Spain/ CE L’Hospitalet/UE Cornella) joined Samayoa on the ASUN First Team, in addition to fellow forward Shak Adams.

 

The FGCU selections to the ASUN Second Team included: Preston Kilwien, Ferrer (Barcelona, Spain/Brevard College/IES Calamot), Dennis Zapata and Sacramento (Winnipeg, Manitoba/York University/Bill Crothers S.S.).

 

Finally, FGCU had three picks to the ASUN All-Freshman Team: Gavigan (Aurora, Colo./Creighton/Grandview HS), Kareem Riley and Chris Clement (Mallorca, Spain/Lycee Francais de Palma). The three nods continue an incredible stretch for FGCU in which the Green and Blue have produced at least two All-Freshman performers in all 11 years of the program’s existence.

 

In total, the 10 selections are the most in FGCU history, surpassing the previous record of nine set in each of the previous two seasons. The Eagles had four more all-conference members than any other school (Lipscomb, NJIT: six each), and the three First Team players are tied with Stetson and Lipscomb for the most in the league.

 

In a further testament to the Eagles recruiting and developing young talent, no other team in the ASUN has even produced two or more All-Freshman Team members each of the last three seasons, but FGCU has done it continuously for more than a decade.

 

ASUN DOMINANCE

While the ASUN Championship matches will not count toward the Eagles’ all-time conference record, FGCU owns a dominant record of 44-6-6 (.839 winning percentage) in all ASUN regular-season games since the start of the 2010 season. Out of a possible 168 points that could have been earned in that time, the Green and Blue have claimed an impressive 138 of them (82 percent).

 

Even more impressive, dating back to October of 2008 – just the program’s second season – FGCU is a gaudy 30-1-3 (.926 winning percentage) in home regular-season games against ASUN opponents.

 

INSIDE THE FGCU LINEUP

Sophomore Adams (Antioch, Tenn./Cane Ridge HS) leads the FGCU offensive attack with 16 points off a team-best seven goals (tied for 3rd in the ASUN) and two assists. Senior Ferrer (Barcelona, Spain/Brevard College/IES Calamot) has posted 11 points off four goals and three assists. Junior Zapata (Orlando, Fla./University HS) – despite missing four matches with a hamstring injury – has produced four goals and a team-high five assists (tied for the 2nd-most in the ASUN).

 

HIGHLIGHT-REEL FINISHES

Over the last few years, FGCU has turned in some highlight-reel goals which have garnered national attention. The most recent came on Oct. 10 against #14 FIU when Riley (Couva, Trinidad and Tobago/Presentation College San Fernando) secured the No. 3 spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays for his incredible goal from about 40 yards. Riley sent a laser of a shot which stayed on line with the crossbar nearly the entire time before just dipping under the bar for his first collegiate goal and the eventual game-winner against #24 Omaha (watch the goal).

 

It’s the third time in the last 2+ seasons that the team has been featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays. The first was Kilwien (San Francisco, Calif./College Park HS) (No. 3 on Sept. 10, 2015) and then Sacramento (No. 7 on Oct. 17, 2015).

 

LUCKY 100

With its 3-2 victory over #24 Omaha on Oct. 3, FGCU secured its 100th all-time win. The Eagles are 103-68-27 (.588) in 10+ seasons, including a dominant 56-19-8 (.723) record in ASUN contests. Since the program’s first two seasons in 2007 and 2008, FGCU has posted a winning record each of the past eight years, including double-figure victory totals in half of those campaigns.

 

RECORD-SETTING 2016 CAMPAIGN

FGCU led the country in nearly every offensive category a season ago, including goals with 62 – nine more than any other team. The club reached record heights as it secured a program-record 14 wins.

 

The Eagles advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the first time after claiming a 3-0 triumph in penalty kicks at USF in the opening round following a 2-2 double-overtime tie. FGCU went on to face North Carolina, and the Green and Blue had a 2-1 lead until an 86th-minute goal by the Tar Heels. FGCU played the final 52 minutes of the match with 10 men, and UNC finally tallied a double-overtime goal to emerge victorious, 3-2. The Eagles return nearly every player from 2016, including 10 starters.

 

NATIONALLY RANKED

The Eagles began the year ranked #15 in College Soccer News Preseason Poll. It marked the fourth-straight season that FGCU has been nationally ranked. The Eagles finished last year #20 in the NSCAA Poll (now United Soccer Coaches) after being ranked for the final nine weeks of the season and climbing to a program-best #11 in mid-October.

 

FGCU NATIONAL RANKING HISTORY
10/5/2010: #25 Soccer America

10/12/2010: #24 Soccer America

10/14/2010: #24 Top Drawer Soccer

10/19/2010: #21 Soccer America

10/26/2010: #23 Soccer America

11/2/2010: #19 Soccer America

11/9/2010: #19 Soccer America

11/16/2010: #20 Soccer America (Final Poll)

8/2/2011: #14 Goal.com (Preseason Poll)

8/30/2011: #22 Goal.com

9/27/2011: #25 Goal.com

9/9/2014: #24 NSCAA and Soccer America

8/31/2015: #19 Top Drawer Soccer

10/13/2015: #22 Top Drawer Soccer

10/20/2015: #22 Top Drawer Soccer

9/27/2016: #15 NSCAA

10/4/2016: #12 NSCAA

10/11/2016: #12 NSCAA

10/18/2016: #11 NSCAA

10/25/2016: #20 NSCAA

11/1/2016: #22 NSCAA

11/8/2016: #21 NSCAA

11/15/2016: #18 NSCAA

12/13/2016: #20 NSCAA (Final Poll)

8/3/2017: #15 College Soccer News (Preseason Poll)

 

ALBERT RUIZ

Ruiz missed the first eight games of the year with an injury, but returned on Oct. 3. In the eight games since, he has recorded nine points off four goals and an assist. Ruiz was named to the 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List as one of the nation’s top players after finishing runner-up for the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy a season ago. The lethal striker – who was also one of just three forwards on Top Drawer Soccer’s Preseason Best XI list – destroyed single-season program records in goals (22) and points (49) en route to being named an NSCAA First Team All-American – the first ASUN Conference representative since 1997.

 

The senior scored five more goals and totaled nine more points than any other player in the country in 2016. He also led all Division-I players in goals per game (1.10; next closest: 0.89) and points per game (2.45; next closest: 1.95). By himself, Ruiz scored more goals than 74 teams – more than one-third of the 203 D-I men’s programs – and secured more points than 43 teams last season.

 

BUILDING A CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAM

FGCU has produced six professional players – including two current MLS members in Rodrigo Saravia (Columbus Crew) and Aaron Guillen (FC Dallas) – and 63 ASUN All-Conference selections. In just six years of D-I postseason eligibility, FGCU has won four ASUN Tournament championships and made four NCAA Tournament appearances – in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2016 – and won an unprecedented six-straight ASUN regular-season championships from 2010-15.

 

FGCU Career Records

	GOALS				POINTS
1	Albert Ruiz (14-Present)	34		1	Albert Ruiz (14-Present)	76
2	Cristian Raudales (08-11)	19		2	Cristian Raudales (08-11)	43
3	Felipe DeSousa (12-14)	18		3	Arion Sobers-Assue (14-Present)	38
4	Henry Penagos (10-14)	13			Felipe DeSousa (12-14)	38
5	Arion Sobers-Assue (14-Present)	12		5	Dylan Sacramento (15-Present)	32
	Dylan Sacramento (15-Present)	12
	ASSISTS
1	Josey Portillo (08-11)	15
2	Arion Sobers-Assue (14-Present)	14
3	Francesco DiStefano (08-11)	12
4	Dennis Zapata (15-Present)	11
	Andres Navas (09-12)	11

 

FGCU Single-Season Records

	GOALS					POINTS
1	Albert Ruiz (2016)	22			1	Albert Ruiz (2016)	49
2	Arion Sobers-Assue (2016)	11			2	Arion Sobers-Assue (2016)	33
3	Shak Adams (2017)	7			3	Deion Jones (2010)	17
	Albert Ruiz (2015)	7				Scott Harrison (2008)	17
	Cristian Raudales (2011)	7			5	Shak Adams (2017)	16
	Deion Jones (2010)	7				Albert Ruiz (2015)	16
	Felipe DeSousa (2012)   ASSISTS	7
1	Arion Sobers-Assue (2016)	11
2	Josey Portillo (2011)	7
3	Deion Jones (2011)	6
	Donovan Henry (2010)	6
	William Morse (2011)	6

 

IRMA RELIEF DONATIONS

In the wake of Hurricane Irma, many individuals and families throughout Southwest Florida are still in desperate need of assistance. To aid in those relief efforts, FGCU Athletics will be collecting donations at all Eagle home games for the immediate future. Donation items most needed include: non-perishable food, clothing, household items and first-aid supplies. Additionally, those unable to attend upcoming home games can drop off donations in canisters located in the Alico Arena lobby. All donations will be given to those hardest hit in Lee and Collier counties.

 

FOLLOW ALONG

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.

 

HEAD COACH JESSE CORMIER

Jesse Cormier was hired in January 2017 to become just the 2nd head coach in program history. The head coach at Vermont for the previous 13 seasons, Cormier 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 has a 122-94-50 (.553 winning percentage) overall record as a head coach.

 

SUPPORT THE CAUSE

FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year 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.