FORT MYERS, Fla. – Henry Penagos scored a penalty-kick goal early in the second half, and Nathan Ingham did the rest in net by preserving the shutout as the FGCU men’s soccer team (5-5-3) defeated visiting FAU (1-9-2) by the score of 1-0 Tuesday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex in a non-conference matchup.

Penagos (Margate, Fla./American Heritage School of Boca/Delray) netted the PK after he started the play by making a run down the left side of the pitch and beating several defenders before sending a cross into the box for Santiago Echeverri (Medellin, Colombia/Celebration HS). As Echeverri tried to control and advance the ball right out of the air and past his defender, Hunter Pritchard, the ball hit Pritchard’s extended left arm.

From there, Penagos stepped up and finished his second penalty kick of the year in the 55th minute with his left foot, right behind the effort of FAU keeper Theo Jamilloux, who had dove to his left. The redshirt senior is now a perfect 4-4 in his career on PKs, and the finish set the FGCU career program record for penalty kicks made.

Redshirt junior Ingham (Keswick, Ontario/Keswick HS) earned his league-leading fifth shutout of the year as he made three saves. While he wasn’t tested often, Ingham made a game-saving stop with only 90 seconds to play as Kevin Byrne laced a shot from just outside the box which was ticketed for the underside of the crossbar before Ingham dove to his right and punched the ball out for a corner.

The ensuing corner didn’t yield any substantial effort, and a few seconds later Ingham recorded his 15th career shutout, moving to within four of tying – and five of passing – Adam Glick’s career shutout record of 19.

“I was proud of how the guys handled the game in a professional manner. It was a tough game from the standpoint that it wasn’t a league match and we were staring at an Atlantic Sun Conference game this weekend that’s going to be very important,” said head coach Bob Butehorn. “We kept the game as quick as we possibly could; they sat back and – for lack of a better term – kind of parked the bus in front of their goal. We just had to break them down and we finally did.”

FGCU dominated nearly every aspect of the contest, and with the exception of a few worrisome chances from their cross-state foe were rarely off-kilter as the Eagles snapped a four-game winning streak in the series for the Owls. The Green and Blue held a 7-1 shot advantage and 3-1 corner edge at the half before concluding the game with 12-3 and 4-2 advantages, respectively.

Penagos, Skylar Wilks (Tampa, Fla./Newsome HS) and Isaiah Madrid (Albuquerque, N.M./Eldorado HS/Westminster) led FGCU with three shots each. Wilks only played the first half but pushed forward often from his left back position as he was responsible for two of the Eagles’ four shots on frame.

After heading to the halftime break scoreless, FGCU had the first great opportunity to break the tie in the 50th minute when Madrid had his defender beat but was grabbed just outside the box, giving the Eagles a free kick. The sophomore – who scored on a set piece in overtime to win FGCU’s last home contest – nearly did it again as he sent a right-to-left curving effort from about 20 yards off the crossbar.

FGCU almost added an insurance strike late in the contest as freshman Nicolas Samayoa (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Colegio Valle Verde) started a counter with a brilliant sliding tackle in the attacking third to give the ball back to FGCU. The Eagles quickly re-countered with Xavier Silva (Boca Raton, Fla./North Broward Preparatory School) playing a ball ahead to David Robledo (Dallas, Texas/Hillcrest HS), who then deftly passed the ball pack to Silva just inside the box, but Silva’s effort in the 74th minute was just over the bar following what the officials deemed an FAU deflection.

FGCU entered the contest as the best defense in the A-Sun by far and one of the best defensive units in the entire nation. The Eagles lead the A-Sun in goals-against average (0.72), fewest goals allowed (10) and shutouts (5). Nationally, FGCU ranked 33rd in goals-against average coming into the night (0.78) – a ranking which will get better when they are updated on Wednesday. Additionally, Ingham’s .821 save percentage easily leads the conference (no one else is even at .760), and he is the only goalie in the A-Sun with a goals-against average below 1.0.

Looking closer at the goals FGCU has allowed this year, only three of the 10 have come in the regular run of play. The other seven have come in the form of an own goal, set-piece strike, two penalty kicks and three corners.

FAU was just the latest test in a grueling non-conference schedule for FGCU which Butehorn has called the most difficult in program history. Despite what is now a .500 record, FGCU has an RPI of 93 – the highest among all A-Sun teams – as a result of the demanding non-league slate, which includes seven top-60 RPI programs and three top-25 RPI teams.

FGCU’s record-setting attendance year surpassed the 6,000-person mark on Tuesday with a crowd of 648. The 6,040 total home attendance through seven games is already the most for a single season in program history. The Eagles, who easily lead the A-Sun in attendance, surpassed the previous all-time single-season record of 4,955 fans from 2011 in their last home game on Oct. 4 against Stetson. FGCU still has at least two home matches remaining in the regular season, and would host the conference tournament if it earns the top seed.

The Eagles can take an all-important step in earning that top seed when they host the University of North Florida on Friday night at 7. FGCU is in first place in the A-Sun standings with 9 points and a 3-0 record, tied with Stetson (3-1, 9 points). However, the Green and Blue have one game in hand over the Hatters, and also own a 1-0 head-to-head triumph earlier this year.

UNF (5-5, 2-2 A-Sun) sits in fourth place with 6 points in the conference ledger, and the Eagles will be looking to avenge a 2-1 loss to UNF which ended their season last year in the A-Sun Championship semifinals.

GAME NOTES: FAU now holds a 4-3 edge in the all-time series … seven yellow cards were issued in the contest: four to FAU and three to FGCU … defender Luis Vega put a shot on net late in the contest … the game was presented by Ted Todd Insurance.

A-SUN SUCCESS
FGCU has the longest home regular-season conference unbeaten streak in the nation at 24 games (22-0-2). Included in that run is a 19-game winning streak, which was snapped in the second-to-last match last year when the Green and Blue tied Mercer, 0-0. FGCU’s last home regular-season A-Sun loss came to Jacksonville, 2-0, on Oct. 19, 2008.

The Eagles have an overall record of 31-3-2 in all A-Sun regular-season games since the start of the 2010 season. All three of those conference losses have come on the road, and out of a possible 108 points that could have been earned in that time, the Eagles have claimed an impressive 95 of them.

FOLLOW ALONG
For 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.

COACH BUTEHORN
FGCU is led by Bob Butehorn, who has coached 30 A-Sun All-Conference selections since FGCU started its program in 2007. In just three years of postseason eligibility, Butehorn has guided FGCU to the NCAA Tournament twice – in 2011 and 2012 – and has won an unprecedented four-straight A-Sun regular-season championships. His teams have been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets, and in 2013 he won his 100th career game.

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.