FORT MYERS, Fla. – Felipe DeSousa’s penalty-kick goal in the 66th minute and Kamar Marriott’s insurance strike in the 87th minute propelled the FGCU men’s soccer team (1-0) to a season-opening 2-0 win over visiting USF (0-1) Friday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex.

DeSousa (Tampa, Fla./Wharton HS) entered as a substitute in the 59th minute, and head coach Bob Butehorn’s move nearly immediately paid off when the junior accepted a long ball from freshman Miguel Jaime (Greenwood Village, Colo./Cherry Creek HS). The lethal forward made a move to beat his defender, and then cut back toward the middle of the pitch and was taken down in the box. DeSousa then stepped up and drilled a low bullet inside the left post for his penalty kick, past the diving effort of USF goalkeeper Spasoje Stefanovic.

The goal was DeSousa’s 14th at FGCU, but more importantly the seventh game-winning strike of his still young career. That moves him out of a first-place tie with Christian Raudales on the program’s all-time list with nearly two full seasons of eligibility remaining.

Marriott (Frisco, Texas/Frisco Heritage HS) also entered the game as a substitute alongside DeSousa, and Butehorn’s decision to play the freshman also paid huge dividends. With USF committing nearly all 10 field players forward late in the game, the Eagles countered off a Bulls’ corner. Fellow freshman Nicolas Samayoa (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Colegio Valle Verde) started the breakout by playing a ball on the ground to classmate Derek Gebhard (Lutz, Fla./George Steinbrenner HS), who got behind the entire USF defense just into Bulls’ territory. From there FGCU had a 4-on-0 break, and Gebhard easily slid a pass across to Marriott who had a wide open net to complete the season-opening triumph.

“Our philosophy was to play two of our freshmen – Arion and Albert – up front for as long as they could, and once they started to fade we knew we were going to bring in some speed in Felipe and Derek,” Butehorn commented. “Those two play extremely well, and Felipe and Derek created some mismatches as USF wasn’t able to handle their speed. We eventually got rewarded for that, and I give our coaching staff a lot of credit for instituting the game plan and for our players for executing it well.”

FGCU, which typically plays an up-tempo pace, started in a 5-3-2 formation due in large part to suspensions to three starters stemming from red cards received in last season’s finale. Butehorn and his staff opted to start four freshmen, including both of their forwards – Albert Ruiz (Barcelona, Spain/UE Cornella/CE L’Hospitalet) and Arion Sobers-Assue (Hyattsville, Md./DeMatha Catholic HS). Those two played great in their collegiate debuts – accounting for four of FGCU’s eight shots on goal – before exiting when DeSousa and Marriott entered.

USF finished with a 17-10 shot advantage, but the Eagles put more shots on frame, 8-5. Making his first start since missing most of last year with a concussion, redshirt junior keeper Nathan Ingham (Ontario, Canada/Keswick HS) made five saves en route to recording his 11th career shutout.

USF controlled the opening seven minutes of the contest before the Eagles got their first great opportunity off a Luis Vega (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Montverde Academy) corner. The junior defender played a ball off a corner kick onto the head of Sobers-Assue, who found space near the back post, but the freshman’s header effort was saved by Bulls’ keeper Stefanovic.

A few minutes later after a USF shot rang off the crossbar, Ruiz got behind the Bulls’ backline but his shot was just sent high. From there the pace slowed slightly until Sobers-Assue had another great look, but again was deflected away by a charging Stefanovic with less than a minute remaining in the half.

FGCU and USF were meeting for the sixth-straight season, and the win against the Bulls – who have made seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances – is just the second in the series for the Eagles. USF was the first of four opponents on FGCU’s non-conference schedule who participated in the NCAA Tournament last year.

Next up, FGCU – which opened a season at home for just the second time in program history – will host Portland on Thursday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. before entertaining 2010 National Champion Akron at The Nest on Saturday, Sept. 6, also at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Will Suedois, 2013 A-Sun Freshman of the Year Isaiah Madrid and Preseason A-Sun All-Team selection Aaron Guillen were suspended for the match … FGCU was issued three yellow cards: Jaime, Vega and Santiago Echeverri … the game was delayed by 31 minutes for lightning and thunderstorms … 873 fans were in attendance, FGCU’s largest home regular-season crowd since 2011 when 1,556 spectators watched the Eagles and then-No. 13 USF … Sobers-Assue finished with a team-high three shots, all of which were on target.

For 2014 men’s soccer ticket information, visit the Alico Arena Ticket Office, call 239-590-7145 or log on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets. For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the program, follow on Twitter @FGCU_MSoccer and Instagram @FGCU_MSoccer.

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