FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU men’s soccer team’s record-setting 2016 season reached another historical moment Tuesday when the Eagles moved up three spots to the #12 position in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top-25 Poll – the highest national ranking of any program in FGCU’s Division-I history.

Additionally, junior Albert Ruiz was named as TopDrawerSoccer’s National Player of the Week – the second-consecutive week FGCU has boasted the honor as Arion Sobers-Assue took home the NSCAA’s award last week.

FGCU (7-2-1, 1-0-0 ASUN) is tied with Pacific for the longest active winning streak in the nation at seven in a row heading into a match at cross-state foe FIU Tuesday night. After receiving votes in the NSCAA poll three weeks ago, FGCU moved to #15 last week with 202 points and now has 301 points.

The program record is eight-straight victories, set in 2010 and again in 2012. Additionally, FGCU has won six games in a row over non-conference opponents – the longest in program history.

Last week’s #15 ranking in the NSCAA poll was four spots higher than the team’s previous regular-season high mark of #19, set three times and most recently last September. This week is just the third time in program history that FGCU has been ranked in the NSCAA poll (full ranking history at the end of this release).

Among the teams FGCU is ranked ahead of include Kentucky, Washington, UCLA, Michigan State and West Virginia. The Eagles are the only team in Florida ranked or receiving votes in the poll. Despite several other prominent national polls each week, the NSCAA Top-25 is the only poll the NCAA officially recognizes.

The men’s soccer team’s previous highest ranking was #14 in the Goal.com Preseason Poll on Aug. 2, 2011. The next chance for fans to see FGCU at home is on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at 7 p.m. against in-state rival USF. Tickets can be purchased by logging on to FGCUTickets.com or by visiting the Alico Arena Ticket Office during normal business hours.

The Eagles also possess the country’s most prolific offense as they lead the nation in goals per game (3.10), points per game (8.80), total goals (31) and total points (88). Individually, Ruiz (Barcelona, Spain/ CE L’Hospitalet/UE Cornella) is tied for the most goals in the nation this year with 11, and his 1.22 goals-per-game average is the best in the country. He also leads the nation in points per game at 2.78 and ranks 2nd in the country in total points with 25.

Coming off his second hat trick in four games last Tuesday in a 6-5 win at Rutgers, Ruiz was named ASUN Player of the Week on Monday and lands on the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week for the second time in three weeks.

Against Rutgers, Ruiz scored at the 5:42, 8:24 and 9:02 marks, and is believed to have recorded the fastest hat trick – in terms of time from the start of the game – in NCAA Division-I history. The previous record is believed to have been held by Indiana’s Steve Burks, who tallied three goals 11:41 into a contest with Indiana State on Oct. 6, 1973.

With 3:20 between the first and third goals, Ruiz is the 3rd-fastest player to score three-straight goals at any point of a game in D-I history. He is bettered only by Illinois-Chicago’s John Stone, who did it in 2:15 (28:58-31:13) in 1985, and Saint Joseph’s Kyle Patterson in 2:31 (28:02-30:33) in 2007.

Ruiz’s goal and point totals are already single-season program records as the previous highs were 17 and seven, respectively. Additionally, he is tied for the FGCU career record for points (43, Cristian Raudales) and goals (19, Raudales).

With the exception of Sobers-Assue’s (Miami, Fla./DeMatha Catholic HS) eight goals, Ruiz has six more goals than anyone else in the ASUN this year. Additionally, his 25 points are 13 more than any other player in the league, again with the exception being Sobers-Assue’s 18. Sobers-Assue was named the NSCAA National Player of the Week last Tuesday after recording his own hat trick as part of a 5-1 win over FAU.

It’s the third-straight week FGCU has had a representative on the TopDrawerSoccer National Team of the Week (Ruiz, Sept. 20; Sobers-Assue, Sept. 27) and won the ASUN Player of the Week outright, setting a program record. Ruiz was named ASUN Player of the Week on Sept. 19 following a program-record seven points and hat trick in a 5-0 rout of UNCW, ranked #20 in the NSCAA Poll this week, and Sobers-Assue garnered the award last Monday following his hat trick.

Ruiz is the first player in program history with two hat tricks, and it took just 10 days between them. 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 with Ruiz against UNCW on Sept. 17. It then took just three more days for the third hat trick in program history to occur as Sobers-Assue netted three opposite FAU on Sept. 20.

In addition to the men’s soccer team’s seven-game winning streak, the FGCU volleyball team has won 15 matches in a row – the best in the nation – and the FGCU women’s soccer team has won five-straight games – tied for the 12th-longest in the country. The three programs have combined to win an incredible 27-straight games.

The Eagles will look to keep rolling at FIU Tuesday at 7 p.m. FIU is just 3-5-1 on the year, but it has statistically played the 17th-hardest schedule in the nation to this point. FGCU will represent the fifth-consecutive nationally-ranked team the Panthers have played.

FGCU National Ranking History
10/5/2010: #25 Soccer America

10/12/2010: #24 Soccer America

10/14/2010: #24 Top Drawer Soccer

10/19/2010: #21 Soccer America

10/26/2010: #23 Soccer America

11/2/2010: #19 Soccer America

11/9/2010: #19 Soccer America

11/16/2010: #20 Soccer America (Final Poll)

8/2/2011: #14 Goal.com (Preseason Poll)

8/30/2011: #22 Goal.com

9/27/2011: #25 Goal.com

9/9/2014: #24 NSCAA and Soccer America

8/31/2015: #19 Top Drawer Soccer

10/13/2015: #22 Top Drawer Soccer

10/20/2015: #22 Top Drawer Soccer

9/27/2016: #15 NSCAA

10/4/2016: #12 NSCAA

NSCAA Top-25 Poll – Points

1) Maryland – 595

2) Notre Dame – 578

3) Syracuse – 539

4) North Carolina – 521

5) Clemson – 504

6) Indiana – 478

7) Denver – 437

8) Louisville – 428

9) Butler – 421

10) Creighton – 388

11) Wake Forest – 334

12) FGCU – 301

13) San Diego State – 266

14) Loyola-Chicago – 236

15) Kentucky – 226

16) Washington – 214

17) Charlotte – 212

18) Virginia Tech – 178

19) UCLA – 163

20) UNCW – 141

21) Michigan State – 116

22) UMass-Lowell – 101

23) Akron – 82

24) West Virginia – 51

25) New Hampshire – 43

TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week

GK Adam Allmaras, San Diego State

D Jordan Wilson, Kentucky

D Simen Olafsen, Connecticut 

D Phil Fives, Indiana

M Zach Zandi, Villanova 

M Sergio Rivas, Seattle 

M Kevin Flesch, Binghamton 

M Amar Sejdic, Maryland

F Albert Ruiz, FGCU

F Zeiko Lewis, Boston College

F Frederick Karman, Saint Mary’s

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 122-92-26 (.563) overall record, 88-60-22 (.582) mark in his 10th season at FGCU and 49-17-6 (.722) 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.