Matchup: FGCU (6-5-3, 3-1-1 ASUN) vs. NJIT (8-6-3, 3-1-1 ASUN)
When: Saturday, Oct. 28 | 7 PM
Where: Fort Myers, Fla. | FGCU Soccer Complex
Links: Tickets | Video | Live Stats
Promotion: Pinkout (Coaches vs. Cancer) | Senior Night
Series: FGCU Leads, 1-0-0
Coaches: Jesse Cormier (1st Season @ FGCU (6-5-3); 14th Overall (120-94-50)) | Fernando Barboto (2nd Season @ NJIT (16-12-7); 18th Overall (149-146-41))

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. – ASUN Tournament implications are abundant when the FGCU men’s soccer team plays its final home regular-season game of the year against NJIT on Saturday at 7 p.m.

 

The match will serve as Senior Night for the program as the Eagles will honor eight members pre-game, beginning at approximately 6:45 p.m. Additionally, it will represent FGCU’s Coaches vs. Cancer game, with $10 pink FGCU “Beat Cancer” T-shirts available for purchase and proceeds going toward the charity.

 

ASUN STANDINGS

Team	PTS	ASUN	OVERALL
No. 1 Stetson *	14	4-0-2	7-6-2
FGCU *	10	3-1-1	6-5-3
NJIT *	10	3-1-1	8-6-3
Lipscomb *	6	2-3-0	9-6-1
North Florida	4	1-3-1	2-9-2
Jacksonville	4	1-3-1	3-9-1
USC Upstate	3	1-4-0	3-9-2

* Clinched a spot in the six-team ASUN Tournament.

SEEDING SCENARIOS

Only two tournament-seeding scenarios exist for FGCU:

1)    FGCU clinches the No. 2 seed in the ASUN Tournament with a victory over NJIT.

2)    FGCU clinches the No. 3 seed in the ASUN Tournament with a loss or tie to NJIT.

With the No. 2 seed, FGCU will receive a bye into the semifinals and will host that contest next Sunday, Nov. 5, at 1 p.m. With the No. 3 seed, FGCU will travel to No. 2 NJIT to face the No. 6 seed in the opening round on Friday, Nov. 3, at 1 p.m. If the Eagles win that game, then they will battle NJIT again, this time in the semifinals on the Highlanders’ home pitch on Nov. 5 at 1 p.m.

 

If FGCU is the No. 2 seed, it will also host that opening-round No. 3 (NJIT) vs. No. 6 game on Friday, Nov. 3, at 5 p.m.

 

Stetson, which has no more ASUN games to play, has already clinched the league’s regular-season title and No. 1 seed in the tournament. If FGCU and NJIT finish tied with 11 points, the first applicable tiebreaker – which will be the fourth overall tiebreaker – is goals scored in conference play. FGCU has currently scored seven goals, while NJIT has tallied nine – thus the tiebreaker and No. 2 seed would go to the Highlanders.

 

Since becoming eligible for the ASUN Tournament in 2011, FGCU has never been seeded lower than No. 2. The Eagles have been the No. 1 seed four times, and were the No. 2 seed in 2014 and 2016 – winning the tournament title both years out of that position.

 

SENIOR NIGHT

FGCU will recognize the following eight seniors for their contributions to the program prior to the match:

 

4 Eli Roubos (Toronto, Ontario/Oregon State/Northview Heights Secondary)

5 Nicolas Samayoa (Guatemala City, Guatemala/Colegio Valle Verde)

7 Jiro Barriga Toyama (Chiba, Japan/Barton CC/Chibakennrituoihama HS)

8 Robert Ferrer (Barcelona, Spain/Brevard College/IES Calamot)

9 Dylan Sacramento (Winnipeg, Manitoba/York University/Bill Crothers S.S.)

11 Albert Ruiz (Barcelona, Spain/ CE L’Hospitalet/UE Cornella)

13 Miguel Jaime (Denver, Colo./Cherry Creek HS)

22 Caleb George (Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain HS)

 

Current senior Kamar Marriott (Tampa, Fla./Heritage HS) will not be included in the ceremony as he has not played this year due to an injury, and is expected to return next season as a redshirt senior.

 

Those eight players have been responsible over their careers for a pair of ASUN regular-season titles, two ASUN Tournament championships and a program-record 14 victories last year as the Green and Blue reached the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the first time.

 

ALL-TIME vs. NJIT

NJIT joined the ASUN in 2015-16, but the Highlanders’ men’s soccer program did not compete in the ASUN until 2016-17. In their first-ever meeting on the men’s soccer pitch last year in New Jersey, FGCU rolled to a 4-1 victory behind a pair of goals from Sacramento and a strike each from Ferrer and Arion Sobers-Assue (Miami, Fla./DeMatha Catholic HS).

 

SCOUTING NJIT

^ Senior forward Mamadou Guirassy leads the nation in goals with 16 – representing 64 percent of NJIT’s total goals this year (25).

^ Guirassy is also 2nd in the country in points (34) – just one shy of the leader – and is 2nd in the nation in game-winning goals with five – also only one behind the pace-setter.

^ In net, Victor Pujades ranks 8th in the country with 78 saves and has posted an ASUN-leading six shutouts. He also leads the league in save percentage (.796).

^ NJIT has defeated USC Upstate (2-1), Lipscomb (1-0) and Jacksonville (4-1) in ASUN play, with its loss coming at Stetson (2-1) and its tie occurring this past Sunday at home versus North Florida (1-1).

 

ASUN DOMINANCE

FGCU owns a dominant record of 43-6-6 in all ASUN regular-season games since the start of the 2010 season. Out of a possible 165 points that could have been earned in that time, the Green and Blue have claimed an impressive 135 of them (82 percent).

 

Even more impressive, dating back to October of 2008 – just the program’s second season – FGCU is a gaudy 29-1-3 (.924 winning percentage) in home regular-season games against ASUN opponents. The lone loss in that time came last year on Oct. 18 to North Florida, 3-2, as the Ospreys snapped not only the long unbeaten streak but also FGCU’s program- and nation-best 10-game overall winning streak.

 

ASUN FAVORITES

This year marks the fifth-straight season that FGCU has been selected as the preseason ASUN favorites (co-favorites with Lipscomb in 2014). Impressively, the Eagles have lived up to that billing each year as the Green and Blue have won either the ASUN regular season title or tournament championship every single campaign since 2010 (regular season and tournament champions in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2016).

 

FGCU commenced league play with victories over each of the three teams selected below it in the preseason poll – North Florida (2nd, 2-0), Lipscomb (3rd, 2-0) and Jacksonville (4th, 1-0).

 

INSIDE THE FGCU LINEUP

Shak Adams (Antioch, Tenn./Cane Ridge HS) leads the FGCU offensive attack with 12 points off a team-best five goals (tied for the 4th-most in the ASUN) and two assists. Ferrer has posted 10 points off four goals and a pair of assists. Dennis Zapata (Orlando, Fla./University HS) – despite missing four matches with a hamstring injury – has produced a pair of goals and a team-high four assists (3rd most in the ASUN).

 

HIGHLIGHT-REEL FINISHES

Over the last few years, FGCU has turned in some highlight-reel goals which have garnered national attention. The most recent came on Oct. 10 against #14 FIU when freshman Kareem Riley (Couva, Trinidad and Tobago/Presentation College San Fernando) secured the No. 3 spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays for his incredible goal from about 40 yards. Riley sent a laser of a shot which stayed on line with the crossbar nearly the entire time before just dipping under the bar for his first collegiate goal and the eventual game-winner against #24 Omaha (watch the goal).

 

It’s the third time in the last 2+ seasons that the team has been featured on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays. The first was Preston Kilwien (San Francisco, Calif./College Park HS) (No. 3 on Sept. 10, 2015) and then Dylan Sacramento (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Bill Crothers S.S/York University) (No. 7 on Oct. 17, 2015).

 

LUCKY 100

With its 3-2 victory over #24 Omaha on Oct. 3, FGCU secured its 100th all-time win. The Eagles are 101-68-27 (.584) in 10+ seasons, including a dominant 55-19-8 (.720) record in ASUN contests. Since the program’s first two seasons in 2007 and 2008, FGCU has posted a winning record each of the past eight years, including double-figure victory totals in half of those campaigns.

 

RECORD-SETTING 2016 CAMPAIGN

FGCU led the country in nearly every offensive category a season ago, including goals with 62 – nine more than any other team. The club reached record heights as it secured a program-record 14 wins.

 

The Eagles advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round for the first time after claiming a 3-0 triumph in penalty kicks at USF in the opening round following a 2-2 double-overtime tie. FGCU went on to face North Carolina, and the Green and Blue had a 2-1 lead until an 86th-minute goal by the Tar Heels. FGCU played the final 52 minutes of the match with 10 men, and UNC finally tallied a double-overtime goal to emerge victorious, 3-2. The Eagles return nearly every player from 2016, including 10 starters.

 

NATIONALLY RANKED

The Eagles began the year ranked #15 in College Soccer News Preseason Poll. It marked the fourth-straight season that FGCU has been nationally ranked. The Eagles finished last year #20 in the NSCAA Poll (now United Soccer Coaches) after being ranked for the final nine weeks of the season and climbing to a program-best #11 in mid-October.

 

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

10/11/2016: #12 NSCAA

10/18/2016: #11 NSCAA

10/25/2016: #20 NSCAA

11/1/2016: #22 NSCAA

11/8/2016: #21 NSCAA

11/15/2016: #18 NSCAA

12/13/2016: #20 NSCAA (Final Poll)

8/3/2017: #15 College Soccer News (Preseason Poll)

 

ALBERT RUIZ

Ruiz missed the first eight games of the year with an injury, but returned on Oct. 3. In the six games since, he has recorded five points off two goals and an assist. Ruiz was named to the 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List as one of the nation’s top players after finishing runner-up for the equivalent of the Heisman Trophy a season ago. The lethal striker – who was also one of just three forwards on Top Drawer Soccer’s Preseason Best XI list – destroyed single-season program records in goals (22) and points (49) en route to being named an NSCAA First Team All-American – the first ASUN Conference representative since 1997.

 

The senior – the only unanimous selection to the ASUN Preseason All-Conference Team – scored five more goals and totaled nine more points than any other player in the country in 2016. He also led all Division-I players in goals per game (1.10; next closest: 0.89) and points per game (2.45; next closest: 1.95). By himself, Ruiz scored more goals than 74 teams – more than one-third of the 203 D-I men’s programs – and secured more points than 43 teams last season.

 

BUILDING A CHAMPIONSHIP PROGRAM

FGCU has produced six professional players – including two current MLS members in Rodrigo Saravia (Columbus Crew) and Aaron Guillen (FC Dallas) – and 63 ASUN All-Conference selections. In just six years of D-I postseason eligibility, FGCU has won four ASUN Tournament championships and made four NCAA Tournament appearances – in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2016 – and won an unprecedented six-straight ASUN regular-season championships from 2010-15.

 

NEXT UP

FGCU will conclude the regular season when it heads across Alligator Alley to face FAU in Boca Raton on Tuesday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m.

 

FGCU Career Records

	GOALS				POINTS
1	Albert Ruiz (14-Present)	32		1	Albert Ruiz (14-Present)	72
2	Cristian Raudales (08-11)	19		2	Cristian Raudales (08-11)	43
3	Felipe DeSousa (12-14)	18		3	Felipe DeSousa (12-14)	38
4	Henry Penagos (10-14)	13		4	Arion Sobers-Assue (14-Present)	37
5	Arion Sobers-Assue (14-Present)	12		5	Dylan Sacramento (15-Present)	31
	Dylan Sacramento (15-Present)	12
	ASSISTS
1	Josey Portillo (08-11)	15
2	Arion Sobers-Assue (14-Present)	13
3	Francesco DiStefano (08-11)	12
4	Andres Navas (09-12)	11
5	Dennis Zapata (15-Present)	10

 

FGCU Single-Season Records

	GOALS					POINTS
1	Albert Ruiz (2016)	22			1	Albert Ruiz (2016)	49
2	Arion Sobers-Assue (2016)	11			2	Arion Sobers-Assue (2016)	33
3	Albert Ruiz (2015)	7			3	Deion Jones (2010)	17
	Felipe DeSousa (2012)	7				Scott Harrison (2008)	17
	Cristian Raudales (2011)	7			5	Albert Ruiz (2015)	16
	Deion Jones (2010)	7
	ASSISTS
1	Arion Sobers-Assue (2016)	11
2	Josey Portillo (2011)	7
3	Deion Jones (2011)	6
	Donovan Henry (2010)	6
	William Morse (2011)	6

 

IRMA RELIEF DONATIONS

In the wake of Hurricane Irma, many individuals and families throughout Southwest Florida are still in desperate need of assistance. To aid in those relief efforts, FGCU Athletics will be collecting donations at all Eagle home games for the immediate future. Donation items most needed include: non-perishable food, clothing, household items and first-aid supplies. Additionally, those unable to attend upcoming home games can drop off donations in canisters located in the Alico Arena lobby. All donations will be given to those hardest hit in Lee and Collier counties.

 

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.

 

HEAD COACH JESSE CORMIER

Jesse Cormier was hired in January 2017 to become just the 2nd head coach in program history. The head coach at Vermont for the previous 13 seasons, Cormier won 14 games with the Catamounts in 2016 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round. During his time with Vermont, Cormier guided the program to the America East Tournament in 12 of 13 seasons, making five title game appearances, winning two tournament crowns, claiming a regular-season championship and advancing to three NCAA tournaments, including a pair of Second Round appearances. Cormier has a 120-94-50 (.549 winning percentage) overall record as a head coach.

 

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.