Florida Gulf Coast men beat Ohio State

FORT MYERS, Fla. - Freshman Ryan Price's (Melbourne Beach, Fla./Melbourne HS) goal in the 64th minute of play broke a scoreless tie and sent the Florida Gulf Coast men's soccer team to a dramatic 1-0 win over No. 5 Ohio State on Saturday evening in front of a record-breaking crowd of 1,322 fans at the FGCU Soccer Complex in the final game of the Embassy Suites Kick-Off Classic.

The freshmen duo of Price and Donovan Henry (Parkland, Fla./Stoneman Douglas HS) connected on the goal that gave the Eagles their second win over a ranked opponent this season. Henry's pass from the right side of the field made its way towards the near post where Price sprawled out for the diving header.

Redshirt junior Adam Glick (Leola, Pa./Conestoga Valley HS) and the FGCU defense made the shutout stand, as the keeper made four saves in the dramatic win for his 17th career victory in net. The shutout was the 10th of Glick's career.

"The thing I was most impressed with was our maturity when Ohio State pressed us in the second half and I'm really proud of the way the guys handled that pressure," said fourth-year head coach Bob Butehorn, who has the Eagles on a six-game unbeaten streak at home dating back to last year. "Both teams found the post a couple of times, but Adam (Glick) came up with a couple of big saves for us again tonight and we were able to come away with the win. Also, the crowd tonight was tremendous. Seeing all the fans and students that came out for the match really gave us a big boost and I want to thank them all for their support."

The win improves FGCU to 3-2-2, while Ohio State slips to 4-2 and suffers its first two-game losing streak since falling to No. 1 Akron and No. 25 Northwestern last year. The Eagles have now defeated three BCS teams in program history (Ohio State, USF, Penn State,) and own the only two wins by an A-Sun school over a BCS opponent this year.

The Buckeyes nearly got on the board just under four minutes into the game when Omar Vallejo broke through the FGCU defense and fired a shot from inside the goal box into the waiting arms of Glick.

The early scoring chance by OSU seemed to wake up the FGCU offense, as back-to-back shots by Price and sophomore Deion Jones (Tampa, Fla./Freedom HS) in the 12th and 14th minute, respectively, nearly got the home team on the board. Price created his own scoring opportunity off an Ohio State giveaway, but his shot from 18 yards out sailed high. Jones' shot came off a free kick just outside the right side of the goal box and was headed toward the upper part of the net before Ohio State keeper Matt Lampson made the first of his two saves in the period.

Lampson kept the Eagles and Jones off the board again in the 28th minute when the sophomore defender nearly put home a shot off a nice drop-pass from classmate Andres Navas (Miami, Fla./Sunset Senior HS).

It was Glick's turn in the 34th minute to continue the strong goalie play, as the Leola, Pa. native turned away Vallejo for the second time. Vallejo executed a nice give-a-go with Matt Gold, but was unable to beat Glick.

The score remained 0-0 at the break with the Buckeyes holding a slight 6-5 edge in shots, while both teams had two shots on goal.

The FGCU offense set the tone early in the second half and nearly had two goals over a chaotic opening stretch that saw the Eagles fire four shots on goal during a three-minute stretch. The first opportunity came when sophomore Jeremy Vollmer (Carmel, Ind./Westfield HS) blasted a shot off the post and Price put home the rebound, but was called offside by the linesman. Price came up just short again in the 62nd minute, as the freshman forward beat the OSU keeper on another rebound, but the ball was cleared off the goal line by a Buckeye defender.

The third time was the charm, though, for Price, as the freshman found the back of the net for his second career goal. The assist was the first point of Henry's career.

A rough and physical contest brewed throughout the second half in a game that featured 28 fouls and five yellow cards.

Ohio State's best chance to tie the game came in the 84th minute when Sam Scales shot hit the crossbar and Austin McAnena's rebound attempt was turned away by a diving Glick. The rebound off Scales' shot caromed into the middle of the goal box where McAnena ripped a shot that was blocked by Glick moving to his left.

The Buckeyes generated the final shot of the game at the 88:27 mark when Konrad Warzycha, who entered the tournament on a three-game scoring streak, placed a shot on net for Glick's fourth and final save.

For the game, FGCU held a 14-13 advantage in shots and a 4-3 edge in corner kicks.

No. 24 USF picked up its second win of the weekend in the first game of the day, defeating Drexel, 1-0. The loss was the first of the season for the Dragons (4-1-1) while USF also improved to 4-1-1 with its only loss coming to FGCU in the season opener.

The Eagles will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule on Friday, Sept. 24 against FIU. Kick-off at the FGCU Soccer Complex is set for 7 p.m.