TAMPA, Fla. – The FGCU men’s soccer team (0-0-1) and South Florida (0-0-1) battled for 90 minutes, but neither of the rival teams were able to break the deadlock resulting in a 0-0 draw on Thursday night at Corbett Stadium.
The match was the season opener for both the Eagles and the Bulls – it was delayed 2 hours, 45 minutes due to storms in the area affecting both the preceding women’s game as well as the men’s match. FGCU will return to action for its first home game on Sunday, Aug. 28 as the Eagles host Northwestern at 7 PM at Pickering Field.
“What a challenge, what a battle, the game was delayed, it’s their home opener, and we had a few key guys having to come off with cramping; but we still achieved a clean sheet and got a point on the road,” said head coach Jesse Cormier. “Our guys maintained structure, competed for virtually every moment and I felt we were a bit unlucky not to take the lead in the first half. Our depth and quality substitutes shone tonight with a special recognition for our defense getting the shutout.”
Overall, the Bulls posted 10 shots in the game while the Eagles tallied seven but had four on goal. South Florida made four saves with FGCU’s sophomore Wyatt Kristner (Midlothian, Va.) not being put to the test all night.
The game saw a total of 12 yellow cards issued throughout the night with FGCU picking up eight.
Each side opened the first 20 minutes of play with two shots. The Eagles attempts came from Aedon Kyra (Sydney, Australia) and Alon Drey (Or’Aqiva, Israel). FGCU registered two more in the next 15 minutes of the opening half, but were saved by USF’s keeper Jackson Weyman.
The game changed for the Eagles in the second half as the Bulls defense stepped up and limited FGCU from attempting any shots for the next 35 minutes. Junior Anthony Gagliardi II (Hubbard, Ohio) ended the dry spell with a shot to break the tie but it was once again saved by Weyman.
USF had the final shots in the game within the last two minutes but were not able to connect with the back of the goal.
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HEAD COACH JESSE CORMIER
Jesse Cormier is in his sixth year as head coach of the FGCU men’s soccer program in the fall of 2022 after being hired in January of 2017 to become just the 2nd head coach in program history. Cormier has guided FGCU to a 33-31-13 (.520) record overall, including a 19-9-4 mark (.656) in ASUN play. The Eagles have reached the ASUN Tournament semifinals for nine of 10 seasons (every year of eligibility but one), as Cormier has coached 31 all-conference selections since his arrival (program-record 10 in 2017). Cormier was the head coach at his alma mater the University of Vermont for the previous 13 seasons. He 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 holds an overall 147-120-59 (.543) record as a head coach in his 16-plus seasons at the helm.
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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 use the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of DI postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 42 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sports – including women’s basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) and both men’s soccer (2018, 2019) and women’s soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors’ Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA’s Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general university undergraduate population for 24 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA in each. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
–FGCUATHLETICS.COM–