FORT MYERS, Fla. – Riding a six-game unbeaten streak, the No. 22 FGCU men’s soccer team (5-2-3) hosts cross-state foe FIU (8-4-0) in its regular-season home finale Tuesday at 7 p.m.

OPENING KICK
The Eagles step away from Atlantic Sun Conference action for an important non-league match against the Panthers. FIU was nationally ranked for several weeks earlier in the season and enters Tuesday with an official RPI of 41 while the Eagles are 46. The matchup pits the nation’s highest-scoring offense in FIU with FGCU’s staunch backline anchored by reigning A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week Nathan Ingham (Keswick, Ontario/Keswick HS).

HOW TO FOLLOW
Tickets to catch the high-flying Eagles – who have already made two appearances on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays this year – are just $7 for adults, $5 for youth (3-12) and $20 for a family pack. To purchase tickets and for more information, log on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets or call the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145.

A free HD video broadcast of the match will be available by clicking here or visiting FGCUAthletics.com/LiveMSoc. Additionally, live stats can be accessed by clicking here, and fans can stay posted and interact throughout the match on Twitter by following @FGCU_MSoccer. All of this information, and more, can be found on the brand-new gameday central page by clicking here.

NATIONAL RANKING
FGCU remained at No. 22 in the Top Drawer Soccer national rankings for a second-consecutive week. It marks the third week this year the Green and Blue has been nationally ranked by TDS as after tying then-No. 3 Georgetown in the season opener they checked in at No. 19. This is the highest FGCU has been ranked during the regular season in any national poll since 2010 when it also checked in at No. 19 in the Soccer America poll on Nov. 2 and Nov. 9.

STREAKING
No one in the A-Sun has been hotter than FGCU in recent weeks. The Eagles enter Tuesday’s contest with the aforementioned six-game unbeaten streak, going 4-0-2 in that time. With a win or draw against FIU, FGCU will tie its second-longest unbeaten streak in a single season in program history.

In 2013, FGCU went unbeaten in seven-straight matches (6-0-1). The 2010 Eagles hold the record with a 10-game unbeaten streak, including eight consecutive wins during that stretch. This year’s team has displayed a similar dominance of late as the Green and Blue’s last loss came on Sept. 19 at now-No. 11 USF.

MATCHUP BREAKDOWN
FIU ranks first in the country with 2.58 goals per game and third in the nation with 2.25 assists per game. The Panthers have scored at least two goals in 10 of their 12 games, with the lone exceptions both resulting in 1-0 losses. FGCU has only allowed two goals twice this year, with one of those being a 3-2 win against Princeton.

FGCU’s team goals-against average this year is the 16th-best in the nation at 0.66, while FIU’s is 134th at 1.42. Ingham ranks fourth in the nation with a 0.37 goals-against average and is tied for fifth with a .885 save percentage. During the unbeaten streak, FGCU has posted four shutouts and out-scored its opponents (four A-Sun foes and two non-conference tests) by a 13-2 margin. One of those goals was a penalty kick and the other was off a set piece.

SCOUTING FIU
FIU and FGCU have had four common opponents this year. Both teams dropped one-goal games at now-No. 2 Wake Forest (1-0 for FGCU and 3-2 for FIU) and claimed one-goal wins over Princeton (3-2 for FGCU and 2-1 for FIU). Both teams have also defeated Stetson (2-0 for FGCU and 3-0 for FIU), while the Panthers crushed FAU, 7-2, and the Eagles tied the Owls, 0-0.

After opening the season with one-goal losses at top-5 North Carolina and Wake Forest, FIU rattled off seven-straight wins before a pair of one-goal setbacks earlier this month. The Panthers bounced back with an impressive 2-1 win over then-No. 9 Old Dominion on Saturday night.

Luis Betancur leads the Panthers with 14 points off a team-best seven goals, including four game-winners. Daniel Gonzalez has 12 points coming from five goals and two assists, while Brad Fountain is also in double digits with 11 points on four goals and three assists.

SERIES HISTORY
FGCU and FIU have played every year since the Eagles’ program began in 2007 with the exception of the 2012 campaign. FIU holds a 5-2 edge in the all-time series, including a 2-1 win in Miami last year.

NON-CONFERENCE REWIND
FIU will be the latest test in an extremely challenging non-conference schedule this year for FGCU. With the exception of FAU, every non-league opponent the Eagles have played or will play is ranked in the top 75 of the official RPI, including four in the top 30 and three in the top 10. Below is a list of those non-conference foes and FGCU’s result against them.

@ 1 Wake Forest: L, 1-0
@ 8 USF: L, 2-1
vs. 10 Georgetown: T, 0-0
@ 30 UNC Wilmington: Oct. 31
@ 41 FIU: Oct. 20
@ 52 Brown: W, 2-1
vs. 72 Princeton: W, 3-2
@ 189 FAU: T, 0-0

CLOSING IN ON HISTORY
Ingham was named A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week earlier on Monday after posting a pair of shutouts last week against FAU (0-0) and Lipscomb (4-0). The clean sheet against the Bisons was his fifth of the year and 24th of his career.

At this pace, Ingham would shatter the A-Sun single-season record for goals-against average as the current mark is 0.61 held by Centenary’s Damin Hill in 1987. Last year, Ingham posted a 0.71 goals-against average to rank as the fourth-best single season in league history.

With his 24 career shutouts, Ingham is now within one of tying and two of breaking the all-time A-Sun mark. Additionally, Ingham’s career goals-against average is now 0.94 – which would be the best in the history of the A-Sun, which dates back to 1979.

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)

OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
Transfer Dylan Sacramento (Winnipeg, Manitoba/York University) has made his initial season in the Green and Blue a memorable one already as the striker has a team-leading six goals in only seven games. With his next goal, Sacramento will tie the FGCU single-season program record for goals with seven. That mark is currently held by three players in consecutive seasons from 2010-12: Deion Jones (18 games), Cristian Raudales (19 games) and Felipe DeSousa (15 games). Sacramento’s six goals are tied for third in the A-Sun, while his 1.71 points per game average ranks second.

On Saturday, Sacramento’s latest goal earned a spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays. Watch the clip here.

NATION’S BEST
The shutout of Lipscomb on Saturday extended FGCU’s nation-best home regular-season conference unbeaten streak to 28 in a row dating back to October of 2008 as the Eagles are 24-0-4 in that timeframe.

A-SUN DOMINANCE
With the win over Lipscomb, 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.

ONE FOR THE OTHER THUMB?
By virtue of a 4-1-1 A-Sun record last year, FGCU claimed an unprecedented fifth-straight A-Sun regular-season championship and will be looking to extend that run to six in 2015. Despite only joining the league and becoming a Division-I member in 2007, FGCU is the first program in the history of the A-Sun to claim at least a share of five-straight regular-season titles.

The Eagles are currently in first place in the conference with 10 points and a 3-0-1 record. North Florida is second with 7 points and a 2-0-1 mark, while Lipscomb is in third place with 6 points and a 2-2-0 record. The highest seed will host the A-Sun Championship when it commences on Nov. 6. FGCU and UNF played to a 1-1 tie a couple weeks ago. The Eagles have one conference match remaining, while the Ospreys have two more games. If FGCU and UNF finish tied atop the league ledger, the first tiebreaker is goal differential in conference games. FGCU is currently +10 (11 goals for, 1 goal against) while UNF is +5 (6 goals for, 1 goal against).

NEXT UP
FGCU wraps up its A-Sun schedule when it travels to take on USC Upstate on Saturday at 7 p.m. The Spartans are 5-4-0 overall and 1-1-0 in league action heading into a Wednesday night home match against Stetson.

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 113-89-25 (.553) overall record, 79-57-21 (.570) mark in his 9th season at FGCU and 47-17-6 (.714) 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.