FGCU M. Soc @ NJIT Recap

The FGCU men's soccer team (4-2-1, 1-0 A-SUN) opened their portion of A-SUN Conference play on the road in Newark, New Jersey as they defeated NJIT (5-3, 0-1 A-SUN). With the win, the Eagles are now 3-0 against the Highlanders.

"Another very good team win today," said head coach Jesse Cormier. "We had 20 plus guys involved today against a very competitive, mature NJIT squad who were 5-2 and the guys came together, stretched themselves and put the team first. Shak is in great form, the backline and Gustavo resisted everything that was thrown our way, including the penalty. Very proud of our collective effort."

"We had a lot of chances to score today -- a missed a pk and unfortunately we were unable to put one away," said NJIT head coach Fernando Barboto. "I thought we dominated most of the game and possession."

For goalkeepers, Cormier sent redshirt sophomore Gustavo Vasconcelos to start while Barboto sent junior Victor Pujades to counter.


After FGCU fired a pair of shots on goal through the first six minutes, the Highlanders nearly took an early advantage in the 15th minute. NJIT was awarded a penalty kick but the Brazilian made a diving save to the far right post to keep the contest knotted at zero.

Playing off junior Joao Burti, who checked into the game three minutes before, junior Shak Adams beat two defenders and the keeper to the far side to give the Green and Blue the 1-0 margin. Adams has now scored in each of the past three games with his fifth goal of the season.

Following the intermission, Vasconcelos secured his second save of the afternoon in the 56th minute to keep NJIT from scratching the board. The Brazil native would come up big once again, this time off a direct kick. In the 69th minute, Pablo Jimenez nearly tallied the equalizer as it took a diving save from Vasconcelos to keep the Eagles ahead.

As the FGCU defense continued to stand tall, the insurance for the Eagles came in the 86th minute. Playing off a corner, Adam's shot ricocheted off a defender inside the box, but redshit senior Jordan Lue was there for the tap-in, his first goal of the season and with the Eagles.

In total, NJIT recorded three shots the entire half, all secured by Vasconcelos (2-1-1) who finished the match with seven saves.

Pujades (5-3) gave up both goals and had six saves

The Eagles outshot the Highlanders 15-8 and produced six corners in the second half compared to NJIT's two.

A total of 21 members of the Eagles all saw action in the team's 2-0 triumph.

UP NEXT
FGCU will welcome cross-state foe FAU to The Nest Tuesday afternoon at 7 p.m. The Eagles lead the all-time series 5-4-1, taking the last three of four matches while outscoring the Owls 9-1 during that stretch.