Matchup: FGCU (5-2-1, 0-0-0 ASUN) @ NJIT (4-2-2, 1-0-0 ASUN)
When: Saturday, Sept. 24 | 2 PM | Union, N.J. – Kean University
Links: Video | Stats | Twitter
Coaches: Bob Butehorn (10th Season @ FGCU, 86-60-22; 14th Overall, 120-92-26) | Fernando Barboto (1st Season @ NJIT, 4-2-2; 17th Overall, 137-136-36)

UNION, N.J. – Riding a five-game winning streak, the FGCU men’s soccer team commences its 2016 ASUN Conference season Saturday at NJIT at 2 p.m. looking to claim its 7th-consecutive regular-season league title.

OPENING KICK
FGCU has posted back-to-back five-goal games and enters the contest as one of the hottest teams in the nation. NJIT opened ASUN play on Wednesday night in Jacksonville, defeating the Dolphins, 1-0, to earn its first-ever ASUN victory. NJIT’s new soccer stadium is under construction on campus in Newark, so the Highlanders – who joined the ASUN last year but their men’s soccer team remained in the Sun Belt Conference – are playing their home games at nearby Kean University this year.

AMONG THE NATION’S & SOUTHEAST’S BEST
The Eagles enter the match receiving votes in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Poll for the second time this year as FGCU picked up 17 points to effectively rank 32nd in the country. The Eagles are ranked #3 in the NSCAA Southeast Region Poll – one of three ASUN members represented in the region, with the others being North Florida at #5 and Lipscomb at #9.

STREAKING
FGCU’s five-game winning streak is currently tied for the 4th-longest streak in the nation. The only teams with better active streaks are Syracuse (8), Loyola Chicago (6) and Butler (6). FGCU has not won six in a row since 2013. The program record is eight-straight victories, set in 2010 and again in 2012. The five-straight victories versus non-conference opponents is the longest in program history.

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
FGCU ranks 3rd in the nation in total goals this year with 21, just two behind leaders Vermont and Buffalo. In addition to the goal total, the Eagles rank in the top-10 nationally in total points (3rd, 59), shots on goal per game (5th, 7.63), points per game (6th, 7.38), shots per game (8th, 17.38) and total assists (9th, 17).

Individually, junior Albert Ruiz (Barcelona, Spain/ CE L’Hospitalet/UE Cornella) is 3rd in the country in total goals with eight and 4th in the nation in total points with 19. Ruiz – who is the ASUN’s active career leader in goals (16) and points (37) – has already set the FGCU single-season program record for goals (8) and points (19) with still more than half the regular season still to play (additional ASUN and FGCU records at the end of this release).

HAT TRICK PARTY
The first men’s soccer season at FGCU was 2007, and it took until Oct. 31, 2010, for a Green and Blue member to record a hat trick when Scott Harrison finally did it versus North Florida. Nearly six years went by before another occurred, and that happened this past Saturday, Sept. 17, when Ruiz tallied three goals in only 50 minutes against UNCW. It then took just three more days for the third hat trick in program history to occur as Arion Sobers-Assue (Miami, Fla./DeMatha Catholic HS) netted three opposite FAU on Tuesday, Sept. 20.

RECORD OUTPUT
FGCU has won its past two games by margins of 5-0 over previously unbeaten UNCW and 5-1 versus FAU. It is the first time that FGCU has posted consecutive five-goal games in program history. Additionally, the 10 goals over the last two contests are tied for the most in a two-game stretch in program history (4-0 vs. Jacksonville and 6-0 vs. North Florida to end the 2010 season). Making the FGCU 5-0 rout of UNCW even more impressive was the Seahawks defeating #5 nationally-ranked Charlotte earlier this week, 2-0.

ASUN DOMINANCE
FGCU owns a dominant 36-4-4 record in all ASUN regular-season games since the start of the 2010 season. All four of those losses have come on the road, and out of a possible 132 points that could have been earned in that time, the Eagles have claimed an impressive 112 of them (85 percent) en route to an unprecedented six-straight ASUN regular-season titles.

SCOUTING NJIT
The Highlanders opened the season with 1-0 shutouts at Fairleigh Dickinson and Manhattan before tying George Washington in D.C., 1-1. NJIT then sandwiched a 3-2 win at Niagara in-between a 1-0 loss versus Rider and a 2-1 double-overtime setback opposite St. Francis Brooklyn. The Highlanders tied Stony Brook, 2-2, before tallying their goal in the 8th minute and making it stand up on Wednesday against JU.

Rene White leads NJIT with four goals, while Mamadou Guirassy has three goals to represent the most lethal scoring threats for the Highlanders. In net, Victor Pujades has a goals-against average of just 0.79 to rank 3rd in the ASUN. Pujades leads the league in save percentage at .824, is 2nd in total saves with 28 and is also 2nd in shutouts with three.

STANDOUT PERFORMANCES
Ruiz was named ASUN Player of the Week on Monday for his standout performance against UNCW in which he also assisted on the game-winning goal to set a single-game program-record seven points. The Player of the Week honor is the second of Ruiz’s career.

Additionally, goalkeeper Sawyer Jackman (Chicago, Ill./St. Charles East HS) was tabbed as ASUN Defensive Player of the Week as he earned his first career shutout with four saves to post the initial clean sheet of the year for the Green and Blue. That came on the heels of a season-high six saves opposite UCF last Wednesday in a 3-1 FGCU win, one shy of matching his career high. The Defensive Player of the Week recognition is the second of the sophomore’s career.

ANIMO, THOMAS
FGCU lost freshman central defender Thomas Delplace (Toulouse, France/Scientific Bac) for the year with a broken leg suffered just more than three minutes into the Eagles’ match at UCF on Sept. 14. Delplace cut across the box and legally challenged what would have been a quality Knights’ scoring chance, but his shin collided with the attacking UCF player’s leg.

In honor of their teammate, FGCU players have started to wear T-shirts in pre-game warmups with text that reads “Animo Thomas” – which translates to “Cheer Up, Thomas” in Spanish.

DID YOU KNOW?
FGCU owns the longest home conference regular-season unbeaten streak in the nation at 28 straight (25-0-3). The Eagles have not lost a home ASUN regular-season game in nearly eight years, dating back to a 2-0 defeat against Jacksonville in October of 2008 – the program’s second season.

NEXT UP
The Eagles will remain in the New York City area for a few days before playing Rutgers on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at 7:30 p.m. The Scarlett Knights are 0-6-0 on the year entering a Friday night match at home versus Indiana. Rutgers has been outscored so far this year, 17-2.

FGCU Career Records

FGCU Single-Season Records

TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are available for all remaining home games. More information, including special discounts and group rates, can be accessed by visiting FGCUTickets.com. To purchase tickets, or for additional inquiries, call the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or log on to FGCUTickets.com.

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 six professional players and 54 ASUN All-Conference selections since FGCU started its program in 2007. In just five years of postseason eligibility, Butehorn has guided FGCU to three ASUN Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament appearances – in 2011, 2012 and 2014 – and has won an unprecedented six-straight ASUN regular-season championships. His teams have been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets. Now in his 14th season as a head coach, Butehorn has a 120-92-26 (.559) overall record, 86-60-22 (.577) mark in his 10th season at FGCU and 48-17-6 (.718) record in ASUN 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.

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