FORT MYERS, Fla. – The top-seeded FGCU men’s soccer team (7-3-3) begins defense of its Atlantic Sun Championship on Saturday as the Eagles face 4th-seeded USC Upstate (6-6-1) in the semifinals of the A-Sun tournament from the FGCU Soccer Complex at 7 p.m.

OPENING KICK

USC Upstate defeated 5th-seeded Jacksonville at FGCU on Thursday night in overtime, 3-2, to advance to the semifinals. The Spartans scored with eight minutes remaining in regulation to force overtime and won it eight minutes into the first extra session. FGCU, meanwhile, earned a bye directly into the semifinals by virtue of its No. 1 seed and will be playing on its home pitch.

In the other semifinal, 2nd-seeded North Florida hosts 3rd-seeded Lipscomb in Jacksonville on Saturday night. The championship final will take place next Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. on the campus of the highest remaining seed (FGCU, if the Eagles defeated USC Upstate).

HOW TO FOLLOW

The game will be broadcast in HD via ASun.TV or by clicking here. Additionally, live stats can be accessed by clicking here, and fans can stay posted and interact throughout the match on Twitter by following @FGCU_MSoccer. Tickets are available for just $7 for adults, while children 12 and under are only $5. A special $20 family pack is available which will admit two adults and 2-5 children, while a military discount ticket with a valid military/veteran ID can be purchased for $5. A-Sun students with a school ID are admitted free of charge.

INSIDE THE MATCHUP

FGCU has never lost to USC Upstate, going 8-0-1 in nine all-time meetings. Furthermore, the Eagles have been dominant in those matches as FGCU has shut out USC upstate each of the last seven times the two teams have met, and eight of the nine meetings overall. The only contest in which Upstate scored was a 2-2 tie during the 2008 season. Outside of that match, FGCU has out-scored the Spartans, 17-0, including a 4-0 triumph in Spartanburg two weeks ago.

All-Time Results vs. USC Upstate:

2015: 4-0

2014: 1-0

2013: 3-0

2012: 1-0

2011: 1-0

2010: 2-0

2009: 1-0 (OT)

2008: 2-2 (2 OT)

2007: 4-0

The Eagles and Spartans have never met in the A-Sun Championship as Upstate just secured its first-ever Division-I postseason victory with the decision over Jacksonville on Thursday night. All-time in A-Sun Championship history, the No. 1 seed is 8-2-0 against the No. 4 seed.

The Spartans are led by A-Sun Freshman of the Year Gordon Wild as he paces the A-Sun in goals with 15, including one in Upstate’s victory on Thursday. Leon Schwarzer tallied Upstate’s final two goals of the night against JU and now has eight on the year – third-most in the A-Sun – to go along with a league-leading five assists for 21 points. Combined, Wild and Schwarzer have totaled 52 points to rank 1-2 in the A-Sun in that category.

Wild leads the nation in goals (15), goals per game (1.15), points per game (2.38), shots per game (4.77) and is second in total points. He will be going up against FGCU’s league-leading defense, anchored by A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Guillen (El Paso, Texas/Coronado HS) and A-Sun Goalkeeper of the Year Nathan Ingham. Ingham (Kewsick, Ontario/Keswick HS) is the league’s all-time career shutout leader with 26, and ranks 6th in the nation with a 0.44 goals-against average and is also 6th in the country with a .872 save percentage. In total, FGCU’s team goals against average of 0.66 is 12th nationally.

FGCU A-SUN CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

Since becoming postseason eligible for the 2011 season, FGCU has dominated the A-Sun Championship. The Eagles have claimed three of the four A-Sun championships they’ve been a part of, going 6-1-0 in seven contests. FGCU went 2-0 in 2011, 2012 and 2014 en route to tournament titles, with the lone loss coming in the 2013 semifinals as the No. 1 seed and at home against 5th-seeded North Florida.

Last year, FGCU tied for the regular-season crown with Lipscomb, but received the No. 2 seed. The Eagles went to Nashville and defeated 6th-seeded Northern Kentucky, 2-0, and avenged the 2013 setback to UNF with a 1-0 triumph in the final versus the 4th-seeded Ospreys.

FGCU’s six A-Sun tournament victories in only four seasons are more than any other current team in the league’s history with the exception of Stetson – which only has 10 victories and has been playing in the postseason since 1985.

The Eagles have been the No. 1 seed now in four of the five A-Sun championships that they’ve appeared in. Below is a look at FGCU’s all-time tournament 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

FGCU RESET

By posting another unblemished 4-0-1 A-Sun record this year, FGCU secured a share of an unprecedented sixth-straight regular-season title (no other team in league history has more than four). FGCU shared the honor this year with UNF as the Ospreys and Eagles played to a 1-1 draw – the lone goal in five A-Sun matches that either team allowed. The Green and Blue earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament by virtue of finishing with a +14 goal differential in league matches (15 GF, 1 GA) compared with UNF’s +8 differential (9 GF, 1 GA).

Despite FGCU’s run of A-Sun regular-season titles, this year marks the first season since 2010 that the Eagles have not dropped a league contest. A look at the Eagles’ last six seasons in conference action, dating back to that 2010 campaign:

2015: 4-0-1

2014: 4-1-1

2013: 6-1-1

2012: 6-1-1

2011: 7-1-0

2010: 9-0-0

Total: 36-4-4 (.864)

* All four losses have come on the road.

FGCU SNAPSHOT
FGCU enters the A-Sun Championship in a position to improve its postseason resume and opportunities as the Eagles currently boast the No. 31 RPI in the country. Last year, the FGCU women’s soccer team hosted an NCAA Tournament game – the first in school history for soccer – as it entered the match with an RPI of 26. The Green and Blue are by far the highest-ranked A-Sun team (UNF, 74) as the Eagles have the 13th-best non-conference RPI in the nation.

With the exception of FAU (176), every non-league opponent the Eagles played this year is ranked in the top 70 of the official RPI, including four in the top 30 and three in the top 10. Below is a list of those non-conference foes and FGCU’s result against them:

@ 1 Wake Forest: L, 1-0

@ 8 USF: L, 2-1

vs. 9 Georgetown: T, 0-0

vs. 30 FIU: L, 2-1 (OT)

@ 43 Brown: W, 2-1

@ 54 UNC Wilmington: W, 1-0

vs. 68 Princeton: W, 3-2

A-SUN ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION

FGCU received a plethora of all-conference recognitions on Wednesday, led by four individual honors and a total of nine players represented across the teams.

Player of the Year: Rodrigo Saravia

Defensive Player of the Year: Aaron Guillen

Goalkeeper of the Year: Nathan Ingham

Co-Coach of the Year: Bob Butehorn

First Team:

Rodrigo Saravia

Aaron Guillen

Nathan Ingham

Albert Ruiz

Second Team:

Nicolas Samayoa

Miguel Jaime

Dylan Sacramento

All-Freshman Team:

Preston Kilwien

Dennis Zapata

Saravia (Guatemala City, Guatemala/College Internacional Montessori) becomes the first player in the program’s young, but successful, history to be named A-Sun Player of the Year. Guillen is the just the second player in program history – and first field player – to be named A-Sun Defensive Player of the Year, joining goalkeeper Adam Glick in 2010. He is also now just the 14th player among current A-Sun institutions to have been named to the First Team on three occasions. Ingham is the first goalie in program history to win Goalkeeper of the Year honors.

Butehorn, meanwhile, earns his third A-Sun Coach of the Year recognition as he also shared the award in 2009 and won it outright in 2011. Since he won his first award in 2009, no other coach in the league has claimed the honor even twice.

Since the A-Sun implemented a Goalkeeper of the Year award in 2012, it marks the first time in the same season a team has had the Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year. Additionally, it’s the first time since former league member Campbell in 2008 that the same team has claimed the Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Coach (or Co-Coach) of the Year. That feat has now only been accomplished three times in conference history, with Campbell also having the other such occurrence as that came in 2005 – a year in which three players shared Defensive Player of the Year honors.

For a complete breakdown of all of FGCU’s A-Sun All-Conference winners, click here.

LOOKING FOR THEIR OWN HISTORY

While Ingham – who is also on pace to set the league’s single-season goals against average record (0.61) – is eying conference history, transfer Dylan Sacramento (Winnipeg, Manitoba/York University) and sophomore Ruiz (Barcelona, Spain/UE Cornella/CE L’Hospitalet) will be looking to make team history against USC Upstate. Sacramento and Ruiz each have team-leading goal totals of six, and with their next goal will tie the FGCU single-season program record for goals with seven. That mark is currently held by three players in consecutive seasons from 2010-12: Deion Jones (18 games), Cristian Raudales (19 games) and Felipe DeSousa (15 games).

GETTING IT DONE ON BOTH SIDES

Traditionally known for its always-stout defense, FGCU has been getting the job done on the defensive and offensive side of the ball this year. The Eagles lead the A-Sun in goals allowed (nine – 13 fewer than any other team), shutouts (seven – three more than any other team) and goals against average (0.66 – twice as good as any other team). On offense, FGCU leads the league in points (65 – two more than any other team) and assists (19 – four more than any other team), and ended the regular season just one goal behind UNF’s conference-leading total of 24.

Individually, Sacramento ranks second in the A-Sun with 1.33 points per game, while he and Ruiz are both tied for fourth in the conference in goals. Additionally, Kamar Marriott (Tampa, Fla./Heritage HS) is tied for second in the league with four assists.

WEEKLY HONORS

FGCU has made it a habit to collect weekly A-Sun awards this year. Including Defensive Player of the Week honors, there have been six times an FGCU player has been recognized with a weekly conference award this season:

Sept. 14 (Defensive): Preston Kilwien

Sept. 28 (Defensive): Sawyer Jackman

Oct. 5 (Defensive): Nathan Ingham

Oct. 19 (Defensive): Nathan Ingham

Oct. 26 (Player): Albert Ruiz

Nov. 2 (Defensive): Nathan Ingham

SPORTSCENTER’S TOP 10 PLAYS

The Eagles have landed on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays twice this year already. The first came on Sept. 10 when Preston Kilwien (Pleasant Hill, Calif./College Park HS/Campolindo HS) earned the No. 3 Play. Making his collegiate debut, Kilwien provided the most dramatic moment of a back-and-forth contest against Princeton as he delivered a left-footed shot in the 89th minute from 35 yards out into the upper-corner of the net to give the Eagles a 3-2 victory over the Tigers. The strike snapped Princeton’s nation-best 10-game unbeaten streak as the Tigers were 9-0-1 dating back to last year.

Then, on Oct. 17 – a fall Saturday against Lipscomb – Sacramento had the No. 7 Play as he used a hybrid of an abbreviated bicycle kick and volley with his back to the goal from about 18 yards out to send the ball over a defender on the goal line with the goalie charging at him.

NATION’S BEST

FGCU owns the nation’s longest home regular-season conference unbeaten streak as the Eagles have not lost an A-Sun home regular-season game in 28 tries, dating back to October of 2008 as the Eagles are 24-0-4 in that timeframe.

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.

COACH BUTEHORN

FGCU is led by Bob Butehorn, who has coached 45 A-Sun All-Conference selections since FGCU started its program in 2007. In just four years of postseason eligibility, Butehorn has guided FGCU to three A-Sun Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances – in 2011, 2012 and 2014 – and has won an unprecedented six-straight A-Sun regular-season championships. His teams have been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets. Now in his 13th season as a head coach, Butehorn has a 115-90-25 (.554) overall record, 81-58-21 (.572) mark in his 9th season at FGCU and 48-17-6 (.718) record in A-Sun contests.

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.