FORT MYERS, Fla. – The No. 22 FGCU men’s soccer team (5-2-3, 3-0-1) exploded with four second-half goals on Saturday night as the Eagles stormed past visiting Lipscomb (4-8-1, 2-2-0) on Senior Night, 4-0, in a battle of the top-two teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

Albert Ruiz, Skylar Wilks, Dylan Sacramento and Cameron Thomas all scored for FGCU, with Sacramento’s finish coming in highlight-reel form. Nathan Ingham and the Eagles’ backline shut down another opponent as the keeper secured his fifth clean sheet of the year by making two saves and thwarting off six Bisons’ corners.

The victory extends FGCU’s nation-best home regular-season conference unbeaten streak to 28 in a row dating back to 2008. The triumph also runs the Eagles’ unbeaten streak to six in a row as the Green and Blue is 4-0-2 dating back to Sept. 19 and has only surrendered two goals in that span.

With the win, FGCU clinched a spot in the A-Sun Championship next month and opened up a three-point lead in the league standings with 10 points. North Florida (2-0-1) now sits in second place with 7 points, while Lipscomb remains in third place with 6 points. The highest seed will host the A-Sun Championship when it commences on Nov. 6.

“We had created a lot of chances in the last two games and I threw down a challenge to the guys to make a statement and let people know that we have a good team,” said FGCU head coach Bob Butehorn. “Our guys responded and played really well. It was a tough first half and I’m really happy to get the result.”

Following a scoreless first half in which FGCU controlled the pace for a majority of the stanza and held a 9-6 shot edge, Ruiz (Barcelona, Spain/UE Cornella/CE L’Hospitalet) was fouled in the Lipscomb box shortly after the second half began. The sophomore stepped up and converted the penalty kick – his third of the year – to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead in the 46th minute.

The second strike of the evening came off the foot of Wilks (Tampa, Fla./Newsome HS) as the defender turned offensive weapon for Butehorn the last month or so tallied his second career goal in the 58th minute. The senior received a pass with his back to the net from freshman Dennis Zapata (Orlando, Fla./University HS) near the top of the box, turned to his right and quickly fired a low shot with his left foot past the diving effort of Lipscomb keeper Micah Bledsoe.

Sacramento (Winnipeg, Manitoba/York University) then provided the insurance strike in brilliant form in the 78th minute. Preston Kilwien (Pleasant Hill, Calif./College Park HS/Campolindo HS) played a cross into the box, but that was mishandled by a leaping Bledsoe. The ball careened to Sacramento – who was chased down by Bledsoe – and with his back to Bledsoe and the goal took one touch with his right foot and used a hybrid of an abbreviated bicycle kick and volley to send the ball over a defender on the goal line for a likely SportsCenter Top 10 Play Saturday evening.

The final goal of the evening came with only five seconds remaining as Thomas (Safety Harbor, Fla./USF/Countryside HS) corralled a pass from Justin Gavin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Eastern Florida State College/Treasure Coast HS) and sent his shot from about 15 yards under the right arm of a diving Bledsoe.

That strike was the first of Thomas’s career, while Sacramento’s was his team-leading sixth of the campaign. The FGCU single-season record for goals is seven, and that’s shared by three different players.

Another FGCU player chasing records is Ingham (Keswick, Ontario/Keswick HS) as the redshirt senior orchestrated another brilliant performance in net. The shutout is the second in a row and fourth in the past five games for Ingham, who now has 24 career clean sheets and is one shy of tying the all-time A-Sun record. Ingham entered the contest with the nation’s 6th-best goals-against average at 0.42 but lowered that to 0.37 as he’s well on pace to set the A-Sun single-season record. Furthermore, with his career goals-against average now at 0.94, Ingham is currently the A-Sun’s all-time leader in that category.

Another record the Green and Blue kept intact Saturday is the aforementioned country-best home regular-season league unbeaten streak as the Eagles are now 24-0-4 at the FGCU Soccer Complex against A-Sun teams dating back to October of 2008.

FGCU also extended its dominant record in all A-Sun regular-season games since the start of the 2010 season to 35-4-4. All four of those losses have come on the road, and out of a possible 129 points that could have been earned in that time, the Eagles have claimed an impressive 109 of them en route to an unprecedented five-straight A-Sun regular-season titles.

FGCU finished the night with a season-high tying 20 shots compared with Lipscomb’s 12. Ingham’s two stops both came in the first half as his save percentage – which also ranked as the 6th-best in the country coming into the contest – increased to .885.

FGCU steps out of conference play again next week as the Eagles entertain cross-state foe FIU on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. The Panthers are 8-4-0 overall and were ranked among some of the country’s best teams until a pair of recent one-goal losses which were stopped on Saturday night with a 2-1 win over Old Dominion.

Before the game, FGCU honored its six graduating seniors: Aaron Guillen (El Paso, Texas/Coronado HS), Steven Oliveri (Stuart, Fla./Jensen Beach HS), Rodrigo Saravia (Guatemala City, Guatemala/College Internacional Montessori), Luis Vega (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Montverde Academy), Wilks and Ingham. It was also the program’s Kick Pink contest as FGCU-branded short- and long-sleeve shirts were on sale with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society. Furthermore, FGCU President Dr. Wilson Bradshaw and his wife, Jo Anna, were presented with FGCU 2014 NCAA Championship mementos prior to the contest.

A-Sun Career Shutouts
1) Ryan Coulter: 25 (ETSU, 2011-13)
2) Nathan Ingham: 24 (FGCU, 2011-Present)
3) Jeff Cassar: 23 (FIU, 1992-95)

A-Sun Career Goals-Against Average (minimum 2,000 minutes)
1) Nathan Ingham: 0.94 (FGCU, 2011-Present)
2) Ryan Coulter: 0.95 (ETSU, 2011-13)
3) Kyle Roelke: 1.00 (Belmont, 2004-05)

TICKET INFORMATION
Single-game tickets are available starting at just $7 for adults, $5 for youth (3-12) and $20 for a family pack. More information, including additional special discounts and group rates, can be accessed by logging on to FGCUAthletics.com/tickets or by clicking here. 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.

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 45 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. Now in his 13th season as a head coach, Butehorn has a 112-89-25 (.551) overall record, 78-57-21 (.569) mark in his 9th season at FGCU and 46-17-6 (.713) record in A-Sun 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.