FGCU Men's Soccer Hits the Road for a Pair of A-Sun Contests

October 13, 2011

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Coming off a thrilling 2-1 overtime Atlantic Sun Conference victory over Mercer, the FGCU men’s soccer team will continue its league slate by traveling to Spartanburg, S.C. to face USC Upstate on Friday at 7 p.m., and continue the road swing with a trip to Johnson City, Tenn. to take on defending tournament champion ETSU on Sunday at 1 p.m.

The Green and Blue enter the weekend with a 5-3-2 overall record which includes a 2-0 mark in A-Sun play. The Eagles opened the conference slate with a 3-1 victory at Stetson (Sept. 30), and followed with a defeat of Mercer in overtime, 2-1, last Friday while playing a man down.

The pair of league wins extended FGCU’s A-Sun winning streak to 11 games. The Eagles are also riding a five-game A-Sun road winning streak entering the weekend contests.

Netting both goals in the defeat of Mercer, senior midfielder Cristian Raudales (Bradenton, Fla./Manatee HS) moved to the top of the points column with eight on a team-best four goals. Senior midfielder Josey Portillo (Metairie, La./Grace King HS) holds a goal and a team-leading five assists, while senior midfielder Francesco DiStefano (Kissimmee, Fla./Osceola HS) and junior midfield mate Andres Navas (Miami, Fla./Sunset Senior HS/FIU) each have a pair of goals and one assist this year. Additionally, junior Deion Jones (Tampa, Fla./Freedom HS) and classmate William Morse (Sugar Land, Texas/Clements HS) have three and four assists, respectively.

One of ten finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, redshirt senior goalkeeper Adam Glick (Leola, Pa./Conestoga Valley HS) has started every contest and played every minute (943:19) in net this season. The Leola, Pa. product has recorded 39 saves while allowing 12 goals, for a goals against average of 1.14, which currently ranks first in the A-Sun. Glick also ranks fourth in the league with a .765 save percentage. In the 2-1 OT win over Mercer last Friday, Glick picked up his 31st career victory. With a pair of shutouts this season, Glick sits in a tie for third in A-Sun history with 18 and is just five away from the record set by from Jeff Cassar of FIU (1992-95).

USC Upstate enters the Friday evening contest with a 5-5-1 record and a 2-1-1 A-Sun mark. The Spartans opened the A-Sun slate with a 3-1 victory over Lipscomb and continued with a scoreless draw against Belmont. In a trip to Jacksonville, Upstate split the pair of games with Jacksonville (L, 3-0) and North Florida (W, 2-0). Dylan Hoop leads the Spartans with nine points on four goals and an assist, while Hakeem King and John Kadane have each added a pair of goals. Jason McCabe has played every contest in net, allowing 13 goals and recording 61 saves, while leading the A-Sun with a .824 save percentage.

FGCU leads the all-time series with Upstate, 3-0-1, holding a 9-2 advantage in the goal differential. In last season’s meeting the Green and Blue defeated the Spartans, 2-0, at the FGCU Soccer Complex.

Heading into its Friday contest with Stetson, ETSU holds an overall mark of 7-4-1 with an 1-3-0 A-Sun record. Ranking as high as No. 19 earlier this season, the Bucs stumbled in their opening A-Sun weekend with losses at Belmont, 3-1, and against Lipscomb, 2-1. ETSU also split its trip to Jacksonville, Fla., defeating North Florida in double-overtime, 3-2, and falling at Jacksonville, 2-1. The Bucs have defeated No. 20 UNC-Greensboro, 1-0, No. 14 William & Mary, 2-0, and played to a scoreless draw with No. 23 Furman already this season. The defending A-Sun tournament champions are led offensively by unanimous preseason all-conference selection Aaron Shoenfeld, who has 15 points on six goals and three assists. David Geno has also netted five goals this season while adding a pair of assists. Leading the league with six shutouts, Ryan Coulter has played every contest in net with 15 goals against and 46 saves, holding a .754 save percentage.

The all-time series with the Bucs sits in favor of the Eagles at 2-1-0, with FGCU claiming an 8-3 lead in scoring. Last year at the FGCU Soccer Complex, the Green and Blue defeated ETSU in a convincing 5-0 shutout. Both programs are unbeaten in the series when playing at home.

Live stats, live video, Twitter updates (@FGCUMensSoccer and @FGCUEagles), results and recaps from both weekend contests will be available at www.FGCUAthletics.com.

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