FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men’s soccer team (6-6-5, 4-1-1 Atlantic Sun Conference) clinched a record 5th consecutive A-Sun regular-season championship Saturday night as senior Santiago Echeverri scored the game’s only goal to give the Eagles a 1-0 win over USC Upstate (4-9-1, 2-4-0 A-Sun) on Senior Night.

FGCU becomes the first program in the history of the A-Sun, which for men’s soccer dates back to 1979, to claim at least a share of five straight regular-season titles as the Eagles split this year’s honor with Lipscomb. With the triumph, FGCU secured the No. 2 seed in next week’s A-Sun Championship and a bye into the semifinal round on Friday, Nov. 14, where the Green and Blue will meet the winner of No. 3 Stetson vs. No. 6 Northern Kentucky in a game which will take place Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Lipscomb will host the A-Sun Championship by virtue of a 2-1 victory over FGCU last weekend as the Bisons and Eagles both wrapped up the campaign with 13 points. The Bisons, who received the other bye, will await the winner of No. 4 North Florida and No. 5 USC Upstate as that quarterfinal match will also take place in Nashville on Lipscomb’s campus Wednesday. The A-Sun Championship final will be played Sunday, Nov. 16.

Playing most likely his final game at the FGCU Soccer Complex, Echeverri (Medellin, Colombia/Celebration HS) made the most of it as the forward netted his first goal of the season in the 11th minute in unorthodox fashion. Ecvheverri was whistled for a foul just outside the Upstate box and received a yellow card just seconds before recording the goal. On the ensuing free kick, the Spartan defender played the ball back to goalkeeper Hassan Haddad, but a charging Echeverri was able to dispossess the keeper and chip the ball into a wide open net to cap another unblemished home league schedule for the Eagles.

The victory extended the nation’s longest home conference regular-season unbeaten streak to 26 straight as FGCU is an incredible 23-0-3 against A-Sun opponents at the FGCU Soccer Complex in the regular season since 2008. Included in that run is a 19-game winning streak as FGCU’s last home regular-season A-Sun loss came to Jacksonville, 2-0, on Oct. 19, 2008 – an incredible stretch of 2,210 days.

Backed by A-Sun Goalkeeper of the Year candidate Nathan Ingham (Keswick, Ontario/Keswick HS), FGCU completed its second-straight shutout as Ingham now has an A-Sun-best seven clean sheets on the year, two shy of tying the FGCU single-season program record. The redshirt junior made three stops as he was rarely tested until late in the contest when he stepped up and recorded a couple major saves. Ingham lowered his league-leading goals against average to 0.77, and also moved within three shutouts of breaking the FGCU career shutout record of 19 held by 2011 graduate Adam Glick.

The blanking of Upstate also extended an incredible streak as the Eagles have not allowed USC Upstate to score a single goal against them since 2008 – a stretch of six consecutive shutouts spanning six years. FGCU now owns a 7-0-1 all-time mark against the Spartans as all seven of the triumphs have been shutouts with the only two goals Upstate has scored against the Green and Blue coming in a 2-2 draw in 2008.

After holding an 8-4 lead at the half in shots, FGCU tested the Upstate backline significantly in the second half as the Eagles built up what was at one point a 14-5 shot edge. However, USC Upstate had the final five shots of the game, several of which were rejected by Ingham. Starting with a Marvin Schmiege shot which was blocked in the 80th minute, the Spartans fired off those five shots in a seven-minute span.

In the 83rd minute, Leon Schwarzer ripped a shot from inside the box but it was saved by Ingham. A couple minutes later, a Lukas Sommer effort from just beyond the top of the box was also stopped by Ingham, the final of his three saves on the evening as he made 60 stops in A-Sun play – the second-most in the league.

“I feel good in general going up to Lipscomb and getting another chance,” said head coach Bob Butehorn. “The guys are pretty pumped for it. Stetson is a good team and Northern Kentucky is a good team. For us, either opponent is going to be a good matchup, so we’ll see how we do.”

Since its run of regular-season crowns began in 2010, FGCU has an incredible overall record of 32-4-3 in all A-Sun regular-season games in that time. 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.

Also included on the record-setting evening for FGCU was the attendance, as 579 fans pushed FGCU over the 7,000-spectator mark for the season for the first time in program history. In fact, the 7,251 fans this year was 2,296 more than any other year as the previous all-time single-season record was 4,955 in 2011.

In addition to Echeverri, seniors Xavier Silva (Boca Raton, Fla./North Broward Preparatory School) and Henry Penagos (Margate, Fla./American Heritage School of Boca/Delray) were both honored prior to Saturday’s kickoff. Represented in the trio is 51 wins over their respective careers, five A-Sun regular-season championships (Penagos is a redshirt senior), two A-Sun Tournament championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances. Over their careers, the trio has never had a losing season.

Additional A-Sun Championship information, including A-Sun postseason awards, will be released early next week. Stay tuned to FGCUAthletics.com for the latest news.

GAME NOTES: FGCU finished the contest with a 14-10 shot advantage … the Eagles had a 4-2 corner edge … Penagos led the Green and Blue with four shots … Haddad made one save for USC Upstate.

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 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.

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