BOCA RATON, Fla. – The FGCU men’s soccer team (0-1-1) returns to action Wednesday night when it travels across the state to take on FAU (1-0-1) for its lone midweek non-conference match of the season.

The Eagles are coming off a 4-3 defeat at the FGCU Soccer Complex to FIU on Saturday night, and will be meeting the Owls for the first time since the 2011 season opener. FGCU – ranked No. 14 in the nation by Goal.com entering that contest – allowed two second-half goals en route to a 3-1 loss. All-time, FAU holds a 3-2 edge in the series and has claimed each of the last three meetings after FGCU began the series with wins in 2007 and 2008.

The FGCU offense is off to a hot start as the Green and Blue has tallied five goals over its first two games for a 2.5 goals per contest average, the highest among all Atlantic Sun Conference teams. Individually, the Eagles’ Felipe DeSousa (Tampa, Fla./Wharton HS) leads the club with three goals, while his average of three points per contest is tied for second-most in the NCAA with Lipscomb’s Omar Djabi.

DeSousa has attempted five shots on the year; four of those have been on frame and three found their way into the back of the net. With two second-half goals against FIU on Saturday, the native of Brazil became just the third player in FGCU history since joining Division I in 2007 to tally double-digit career goals with 10.

After opening the year with a 0-0 double-overtime draw at UCF, the Owls responded with a 3-1 victory in their home opener on Sept. 1 against D-I newcomer UMass-Lowell. FAU has not played since – a 10-day break from game action – and its match versus the Eagles is the second of five straight at the FAU Soccer Complex. Ryan Price scored a goal and added an assist in the Owls’ win over the Riverhawks, while Deniz Bozkurt and Daniel Montoya tallied the other two. In net, Theo Jamilloux has played all 200 minutes and has allowed just one goal and made nine saves. The freshman keeper has a goals against average of .45.

In their last outing Saturday, FGCU fell behind in its home opener to FIU, 3-0, before getting on the board in the closing seconds of the first half. The Panthers struck again midway through the second half to go up, 4-1, before DeSousa scored both his goals in a 20-minute span. A final attempt by Aaron Guillen (El Paso, Texas/Coronado HS) in the 87th minute rang off the post, snapping a 10-game unbeaten streak dating back to last season.

The 10-match stretch was tied for a program record with the 2010 club. It also broke a six-match winning streak at home and a seven-game unbeaten streak, dating back to the Green and Blue’s lone loss at the FGCU Soccer Complex to VCU last year, 2-1.

The Eagles return home on Saturday, Sept. 14, for a marquee showdown against Wisconsin at 8 p.m. The Badgers are ranked No. 6 in the Great Lakes Region. The FGCU volleyball team hosts the current No. 3 team in the nation, Penn State, earlier in the evening, and fans who purchase a ticket to either that game or the men’s soccer game will be granted admission to both events as part of FGCU’s Big Ten Faceoff promotion.

2013-14 men’s soccer season tickets are now available by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office, calling 239-590-7145 or logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets. Season tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for youth (ages 3-12). Single-game tickets can also be purchased for $6 per adult and $3 for youth. Groups of 10+ can receive a discounted rate of $3 per person. FGCU students and faculty/staff are admitted for free with a valid University ID.

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