Florida Gulf Coast men defeat Mercer

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Florida Gulf Coast University men’s soccer team netted two goals in a 10 minute span in the second half en route to a thrilling 2-1 win over A-Sun foe Mercer on Thursday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex.

With the win the Eagles improve their record to 7-6-1 (5-2 A-Sun) and move into second place in the conference, while the Bears fall to 4-8-2 (3-3 A-Sun).

The Eagles recorded 18 shots in the game including six in the first half, as they controlled the tempo throughout.

The first half was dominated by the Eagles, but FGCU was unable to find the back of the net and settled for a scoreless tie at the intermission.

Early in the second half the tide changed for the Eagles as they built a 2-0 lead 15 minutes into the period. The first Eagle goal went to sophomore Scott Harrison (Cocoa, Fla.) as he received a beautiful service from sophomore Christian Raudales (Bradenton, Fla.) and snuck the ball past Mercer goalkeeper Brent Petricek.

About 10 minutes later the Blue and Green struck again and this time it was junior Jonathan Koshko (New Port Richey, Fla.) who gave the Eagles a 2-0 cushion. Koshko got an open look from 30-yards out and took advantage of both time and space given to him as he sent a well-struck ball into the back of the net.

The FGCU defense looked strong the entire game, allowing Mercer just 11 shots, but with just under three minutes remaining in regulation, Will Betts got an open look for the Bears less than 10-yards out to beat FGCU keeper Matt Smith (Cape Canaveral, Fla.). The Green and Blue would hold off a late charge from the Bears to earn the 2-1 win.

The Eagles will be back in action Saturday at 7 p.m. for the 2009 home finale when they do battle with first place Campbell in a matchup that could decide the A-Sun Regular Season Championship.