In the "Battle of the the Eagles", the FGCU men's soccer team (2-2-0) picked up a huge road victory over RV Georgia Southern (2-1-1) Friday evening scoring late in the first period, followed by a strike nearly 20 minutes into the second half to seal the match at Eagle Field. FGCU would win 2-0.
"Great win tonight!" said head coach Jesse Cormier. "To knock off an undefeated team at their home and play the way we did in the first half was a significant improvement. Getting contribution from the entire squad tonight was also encouraging and this was a credit to the entire team and I'm very proud of them."
"The game was won and lost in both penalty boxes," said GSU head coach John Murphy. "I thought we started brightly, we created some good chances from our pressure, which I thought was quite good. They settled in, they moved the ball well; they're very athletic and mobile. I thought we just lacked that cutting edge. Jokull [Blaengsson] made a fantastic save to keep it nil-nil, and unfortunately there was an error that lead to the first goal. That's going to happen, throughout a season, but I don't expect it to happen too often. If you take the mistake out of it, the first half was even.
For the "Battle of the Eagles", Cormier sent redshirt sophomore Gustavo Vasconcelos as starting goalkeeper while Murphy sent freshman Jokull Blaengsson to counter.
It was a back and forth battle for possession as it seemed equal for both teams until the Eagles took advantage of a GS communication issue with 10 minutes left before the half.
After a corner kick from sophomore Kareem Riley, Blaengsson looked to have the ball in mid-air but it slipped right through his hands as redshirt senior Marriot was there for the rebound and finish. His first of the year, put the Eagles up 1-0 going into the intermission.
Following the break, Vasconcelos was quickly tested by the home side.
In the 47th minute, GS fired off three shots in attempt to find the equalizer but the Brazil native was there for all three saves.
Shortly after, FGCU tacked on the insurance goal on a play from the left side of the 18-yard box set up by junior Shak Adams. Settling with pace, Adams crossed in a right-footed shot and found junior Joao Burti, who buried a jump inside the five-yard box near post for the 2-0 lead. His first with the Green and Blue and of the 2018 campaign.
Up with a 2-0 cushion, the Green and Blue zoned in on defense, conceding just one corner to Georgia Southern and one shot on goal that came in the 69th tick which was secured in the hands of Vasconcelos.
"In the second half, now we're pushing on, looking for the equalizer and we're vulnerable," Murphy added. "They go and score the second. They're built for it, I think they're very well coached. and it was a very good performance from them. But that's as fragmented as I've ever seen us at home. We have lots to work on, and not a lot of time since we're going to be going to [#1-ranked] Wake Forest on Tuesday."
Despite being outshot by GS, the Eagles made their opportunities count with four shots on goal as both teams each tallied four corners apiece.
Vasconcelos (1-1) earns his first win of the year and also of his Eagle career with the clean road sheet, snagging five saves at the end of the night.
Junior Jason Van Acheteren and sophomore Michael Luke made their debuts for the Eagles. Van Acheteren joined FGCU spring 2018 after spending his freshman year at NCAA DII Embry-Riddle and sophomore year at NCAA DII Eastern New Mexico while Luke joined FGCU after spending his freshman year at UNC Asheville.
Up Next:
The I-75 rivalry renews at home as former FGCU head coach and founding father Bob Butehorn will be making his first return to campus on Sept. 15 since taking over the reins of the USF program following the 2016 season. USF began the 2018 season receiving votes in the national poll after finishing in the top 50 of the RPI last year with a 6-6-4 record. The Bulls are currently 1-4 and have faced three teams in the top-25 to begin the season.
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