CONWAY, S.C. – Making its third NCAA Tournament appearance in only four years of eligibility, the FGCU men’s soccer team (8-6-5) will begin the road to the 2014 College Cup at Coastal Carolina (15-5-1) on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m.

 

WHAT TO KNOW

The match will be video streamed free of charge, live stats will also be available and up-to-the minute and behind-the-scenes updates will be posted on Twitter by following @FGCU_MSoccer. Links to all three can be accessed at the top of this release. Tickets for the NCAA First Round are available by calling the Coastal Carolina Athletics Ticket Office at 843-347-8499. Ticket prices are set for $7 for adults and $5 for youth (high school age and below). Fans may purchase tickets at the South Ticket Booth at Brooks Stadium beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday. All tickets are general admission; bleachers are first-come, first-served. Coastal Carolina is location about 20 minutes from Myrtle Beach.

 

HOW THEY GOT HERE

The Eagles punched their ticket to the tournament by winning the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship Sunday over North Florida, 1-0, while the Chanticleers won the Big South Championship with a 1-0 victory over Radford. With a win, FGCU would advance to play at Clemson on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 7 p.m. The 7th-seeded Tigers received an opening-round bye as one of the top-16 teams in the 48-team tournament.

 

FGCU IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

FGCU previously made NCAA Tournament appearances in 2011 and 2012.

 

2011: 1-0 Loss at UCF

FGCU qualified for the NCAA Tournament in its first season of D-I postseason eligibility after going through a four-year reclassification period upon joining D-I for the 2007-08 campaign. After defeating then-No. 8 UCF during the regular season in 2011, the two sides met again in the NCAA Tournament First Round. FGCU controlled the play and forced UCF keeper Sebastian Evers into making seven saves, but the Knights scored in the 107th minute to earn a 1-0 double-overtime victory. The Eagles ended the season with a 12-6-2 record.

 

2012: 0-0 Tie – Lost 5-3 In Penalty Kicks at USF

After 110 minutes of scoreless action that included six highlight-reel saves by then-sophomore goalkeeper Nathan Ingham (Keswick, Ontario/Keswick HS), FGCU and USF went to penalty kicks where the Bulls pulled out a 5-3 triumph. Ingham guessed correctly on all five USF PKs, and got his hands on two of them, but it wasn’t enough as FGCU fell in heart-breaking fashion for the second time in as many years. FGCU entered that contest with the nation’s third-longest winning streak (8). The Eagles concluded the season 11-6-2 and ended the year on a nine-game unbeaten streak (8-0-1), including eight shutouts.

 

FGCU SEASON RECAP

After playing a non-conference schedule which featured seven top-100 RPI programs, six top-70 and three top-25 RPI teams (more information below), FGCU once again found its groove when it hit conference action. The Eagles finished with a 4-1-1 A-Sun regular-season mark (13 points), good for an unprecedented fifth consecutive A-Sun regular-season championship.

 

FGCU shared this year’s title with Lipscomb as the Bisons earned a 2-1 head-to-head victory and the right to host the conference tournament. The Eagles received a bye into the semifinals as a result of their No. 2 seed where they met Northern Kentucky University and came away with a 2-0 win. Top-seeded Lipscomb, meanwhile, fell to the University of North Florida, 3-0, as the Ospreys scored all three goals in the first 25 minutes.

 

In the championship game, it was sophomore Will Suedois (Nice, France/Florida Virtual School) who netted the championship-clinching goal in the 35th minute. Playing out of a recently-implemented 5-3-2 formation, Suedois pushed forward out of his right back position. He navigated around several UNF defenders before cutting across the top of the box and firing a left-footed shot from the 18 which beat A-Sun Goalkeeper of the Year Kyle Nasta to his right.

 

ABOUT COASTAL CAROLINA

Coastal Carolina’s Big South Tournament Championship was the 12th in program history as the Chanticleers have now been to the NCAA Tournament 10 times: each of the last five years and also a five-year stretch from 2001-05. Thursday’s match will mark the fourth-straight and fifth time overall Coastal has hosted an NCAA Tournament game.

 

It also marks the second-straight year that Coastal Carolina, ranked No. 25 in the nation (RPI 21), will host the A-Sun Champion as last year the Chanticleers defeated ETSU (now a Southern Conference member) by a 2-0 margin. Coastal went on to upset 13th-seeded Charlotte before losing to California in the round of 16.

 

SERIES HISTORY

FGCU and Coastal Carolina have no similar opponents this year, but both have taken on several nationally-ranked teams. The two sides have met only one time, but that meeting was the first game in the history of the FGCU men’s soccer program as the Eagles traveled to Coastal to compete in its tournament and defeated the hosts, 3-2, on Aug. 31, 2007.

 

OFFENSE vs. DEFENSE

Thursday’s showdown will be a matchup of the nation’s top-ranked offense in terms of goals and one of the nation’s best defensive in terms of goals allowed. Coastal enters the game with 46 total goals – the most in the nation – while FGCU has only allowed 14 goals in 19 games and has the country’s 15th-best goals against average at 0.69.

 

The Chanticleers spread out that offensive production as 10 different players have scored at least three goals, led by a team-best eight from Ricky Garbanzo, who has 22 points on the year thanks in part to an also team-leading six assists. Coastal also has four players who have scored at least five goals and have attempted 154 shots on goal – 83 more than its opponents.

 

That offensive attack will be going up against the Eagles’ stalwart backline and Ingham, who is working on one of the greatest seasons in the history of A-Sun men’s soccer. FGCU comes into the game on a four-match unbeaten streak, and the Green and Blue has shut out all four of those opponents. The redshirt junior keeper, who missed almost all of last year after suffering a concussion, ranks 18th in the nation with the aforementioned 0.69 goals against average, while his .818 save percentage is 23rd in the country.

 

Ingham tied his own single-season FGCU shutout record with the blanking of UNF in the A-Sun Championship Game as it was his ninth of the season – four more than anyone else in the A-Sun. The shutout also tied Ingham with 2011 graduate Adam Glick for FGCU’s career record of 19. While Ingham has the individual numbers to back up the great defensive season, his backline and midfield has been just as important as FGCU hasn’t allowed a goal in 410:29, dating back to a second-half tally by Lipscomb on Nov. 1.

 

INGHAM CHASING HISTORY

With one more shutout, not only will Ingham set FGCU’s single-season record with 10, but he’ll tie the A-Sun record, which is currently held by ETSU’s Ryan Coulter from just last year (A-Sun men’s soccer history dates back to 1979). Additionally, Ingham’s 0.69 goals against average is currently the fourth-best in A-Sun single-season history, with the record being 0.61 by Centenary’s Damin Hill in 1987.

 

A-SUN HONORS

Led by a league-high four selections to the A-Sun All-Conference First Team, FGCU had eight players named to the A-Sun’s all-conference teams this year, as voted on by the league’s seven head coaches.

 

All-Conference First Team

Ingham

Aaron Guillen (El Paso, Texas/Coronado HS)

Rodrigo Saravia (Guatemala City, Guatemala/College Internacional Montessori)

Felipe DeSousa (Tampa, Fla./Wharton HS)

 

All-Conference Second Team

Isaiah Madrid (Albuquerque, N.M./Eldorado HS/Westminster)

Henry Penagos (Margate, Fla./American Heritage School of Boca/Delray)

 

All-Freshman Team

Miguel Jaime (Greenwood Village, Colo./Cherry Creek HS)

Albert Ruiz (Barcelona, Spain/UE Cornella/CE L’Hospitalet)

 

Additionally, Saravia, David Robledo (Dallas, Texas/Hillcrest HS) and Steven Oliveri (Stuart, Fla./Jensen Beach HS) were all named to the A-Sun All-Academic Team.

 

The eight all-conference players are the most FGCU has ever had, dating back to the program’s start in 2007. Additionally, the four First Team selections are tied for the most in a single season (2010). Jaime and Ruiz continue an impressive run of talent head coach Bob Butehorn has recruited and developed as FGCU has now had at least two All-Freshman Team selections in each of the program’s eight years of existence.

 

FGCU STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

FGCU’s team rankings in the A-Sun this year, including a comparison to the next-closest team in each category:

Shots: 296 (1st – next closest, 264)

Goals Allowed: 14 (1st – next closest, 24)

Goals Against Average: 0.69 (1st – next closest, 1.38)

Shutouts: 9 (1st – next closest, 6)

Corners: 91 (1st – next closest, 89)

 

FGCU SINGLE-SEASON RECORDS

DeSousa’s 50 shots are the most in FGCU single-season history, while Madrid’s 43 are the second-most (previous record was 43 from Josey Portillo in 2010) … Penagos is 2-2 on penalty kicks this year, tied for the most in a single season … Ingham needs just four more saves to have the second-most in a single season as he currently has 63 (record is 86 by Adam Glick in 2007) … Ingham’s .818 save percentage is second-best, behind Glick’s .853 in 2010.

 

FGCU CAREER RECORDS

With his next goal, DeSousa will tie Christian Raudales’ program record for career goals with 19. The junior striker already has the most game-winning goals in program history (8), and he is just five points behind the record of 43, which Raudales also holds. Penagos is a perfect 4-4 in his career on penalty kicks, the most successful PKs in program history.

 

MORE A-SUN TOURNAMENT INFO

The A-Sun Tournament Championship win over UNF for FGCU avenged a 2-1 loss in the A-Sun Championship semifinals last year at the hands of the Ospreys. The Eagles are one of just five schools in A-Sun history with three championship titles, and despite only having the opportunity to go to the NCAA Tournament four times, FGCU is now tied for the second-most NCAA Tournament appearances in A-Sun history, behind only the four which former member FIU had in the 1990s.

 

Ingham was named the A-Sun Tournament MVP for his two shutouts, and he was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Suedois, Santiago Echeverri (Medellin, Colombia/Celebration HS) and DeSousa, as the latter two scored the Eagles’ goals in the semifinal win.

 

HEAD COACH BOB BUTEHORN

Following FGCU’s A-Sun Championship win on Sunday afternoon, Butehorn flew to Maryland to be with his family after his father passed away on Saturday, the night before the tournament final. He rejoined the team on Wednesday night.

 

Together, Butehorn and his colleague on the women’s side, Jim Blankenship, have created a soccer powerhouse in Southwest Florida as the two coaches have combined to win 10 A-Sun regular-season championships and six A-Sun Tournament championships despite only being in the league since 2007-08 and only postseason eligible since 2011-12.

 

THE STREAK

FGCU owns the longest home regular-season conference unbeaten streak in the nation. FGCU has not lost a home regular-season A-Sun game since 2008, a stretch of 26 in a row in which the Eagles are unbeaten (23-0-3). 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.

 

A-SUN RUN

FGCU has an incredible overall record of 32-4-3 in all A-Sun regular-season games since the start of the 2010 season. All four of those conference losses have come on the road, and out of a possible 117 points that could have been earned in that time, the Eagles have claimed an impressive 99 of them.

 

CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE

FGCU assembled a grueling non-conference schedule which Butehorn has called the most difficult in program history. Among the top-100 RPI teams in the nation, FGCU has played No. 10 Washington, No. 15 Louisville, No. 23 Akron, No. 46 USF, No. 62 San Francisco, No. 67 Saint Mary’s and No. 77 Brown. FGCU is ranked No. 119 in the RPI. The Eagles faced three NCAA Tournament participants in its non-league docket (Akron, Washington, Louisville), with the Huskies and Cardinals being seeded No. 14 and 13, respectively.

 

FGCU has always played a challenging non-conference schedule, and as it has shown the Eagles have used that to prepare for the league slate. Of the 11 non-conference opponents FGCU faced this year, five were either nationally ranked or receiving votes in the national poll, while four others had defeated nationally-ranked teams.

 

Below is FGCU’s record each season since 2010 before playing its first conference game and then its record for the remainder of the season following its first league contest:

 

2010: 4-2-2 > 10-1-1

2011: 3-2-2 > 9-4-0

2012: 3-4-1 > 8-2-1

2013: 2-5-1 > 6-2-1

2014: 1-4-3 > 7-2-2

Total: 13-17-9 > 40-11-5

 

Some of those opponents following FGCU’s first A-Sun match were not conference foes, but the Eagles have clearly used the non-league slate to help pave the way to their five consecutive A-Sun regular-season championships.

 

THEY’RE BACK
FGCU scored 27 goals last season, and all 27 were from players who returned this year. The 100-percent return rate is the best in the country, tied with SIU Edwardsville which only scored 14 goals in 2013.
 
Highest Pct. of Goals Returning

1.    FGCU – 100.0 (27/27)

       SIU Edwardsville – 100.0 (14/14)

3.    Evansville – 97.1 (33/34)

4.    Syracuse – 96.7 (29/30)

5.    North Carolina – 89.5 (17/19)

6.    Missouri State – 88.2 (15/17)

7.    Virginia – 86.6 (39/45)

       Buffalo – 86.6 (13/15)

9.    NJIT – 84.0 (21/25)

       Duke – 84.0 (21/25)

11.  FIU – 81.5 (22/27)

12.  UAB – 81.4 (35/43)

13.  Cincinnati – 81.3 (13/16)

14.  Connecticut – 80.6 (29/36)

15.  South Carolina – 80.0 (20/25)

 

NATIONAL RANKING

FGCU was ranked No. 24 in the nation earlier this year by the NSCAA, marking the first time in program history the Eagles were nationally-ranked by the NCAA’s officially-recognized poll. The ranking came on Sept. 9 after FGCU had opened the season 1-0-2, defeating USF, 2-0, and tying Portland, 0-0, and Akron, 1-1.

 

FGCU’S A-SUN DOMINANCE

The A-Sun Tournament Championship for the men’s soccer program added to FGCU’s impressive list of league titles as FGCU now has 40 conference tournament or regular-season championships. Additionally, the Eagles swept the A-Sun men’s and women’s soccer tournament championships for the third time in four years as the women’s program dropped a hard-fought home NCAA Tournament match to Auburn Saturday night, 1-0.

 

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 and Instagram @FGCU_MSoccer.

 

COACH BUTEHORN

FGCU is led by Bob Butehorn, who has coached 38 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 five-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.