FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the third time this season a red card in the first half put the FGCU men’s soccer team down a man for the majority of the 90 minutes. And for third time, the Eagles earned a positive result, defeating Atlantic Sun foe Belmont, 3-1, while playing the final 78 minutes with just 10 players on Sunday during Senior Day at the FGCU Soccer Complex. 

FGCU led 1-0 when a red card forced it to play with 10 players starting in the 12^th minute, but overcame the equalizing goal by the Bruins with tallies from freshmen Xavier Silva (Boca Raton, Fla./North Broward Prep) and Yianni Sarris (Mentor, Ohio/Cleveland Saint Ignatius HS). The Eagles have been remarkable this season while playing a man down, scoring five goals while going 2-0-1 in the three games.

The Green and Blue’s heroics move their overall record to 8-4-2 and, more importantly, 5-1 in the conference for 15 points. The Eagles sit just one point back of Jacksonville (5-0-1) for first place, setting up a huge showdown in Southwest Florida on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. between the A-Sun’s top two teams in the standings.

“We were pleased with the effort today playing a man down. Unfortunately, it had to happen early in the game,” said fifth-year head coach Bob Butehorn. “We responded well and I’m glad we were able to come away with the win for our seniors. When playing a man down your effort really has to come from determination and you can’t get deterred by what’s in front of you. We were able to respond immediately with a good goal by Xavier (Silva), and I am happy that we got the result we did this afternoon under tough conditions.”

Following an emotional senior ceremony that showcased FGCU’s nine-member class, the Eagles wasted little time giving the seniors’ large contingent of family and friends something to cheer about with a goal in the third minute. Fittingly, it was senior Kevin Ante (Miami, Fla./Varela HS) who got the home team on the board with his first career goal, putting home a rebound during a corner. Junior Deion Jones (Tampa, Fla./Freedom HS) picked up the first assist on the serve into the box, while Silva’s header off the post accounted for the other assist.

A trip in the midfield at the 11:44 mark resulted in a red card issued to FGCU’s Jeremy Vollmer (Carmel, Ind./Westfield HS), putting the Eagles down a man for the final 78 minutes. The Bruins immediately capitalized with a goal just 10 seconds later on a deflected shot by Belmont’s Pedro Miranda that equaled the score at 1-1.

Despite being a man down, the Eagles were able to sustain pressure on the offensive end, breaking through again at the 17:06 mark when junior Andres Navas (Miami, Fla./Sunset Senior HS) found Silva on a cross from the right that was headed into the lower left corner of the net. The goal was Silva’s third in 10 games played.

The 2-1 lead held up until halftime and several sprawling saves from freshman goalkeeper Nathan Ingham (Ontario, Canada/Keswick HS) helped keep the momentum on FGCU’s side.

Ingham not only made six saves in the game, but actually got the Eagles rolling on their third goal with a long pass over the midfield line to sophomore Nick Patterson (Tarpon Springs, Fla./East Lake HS). Patterson flicked the pass over the right defender to a streaking Sarris who beat Belmont goalie Lou Manning with a shot to the low left corner from just outside the goal box. Both Patterson and Ingham were credited with an assist on the insurance goal that gave FGCU a 3-1 lead in the 79^th minute.

Both the final shot count, 15-14, and the corner kick battle, 6-3, belonged to the Eagles. Ingham’s assist is the first point ever recorded by a goalkeeper in FGCU history.

FGCU will carry a 14-game (13-0-1) home unbeaten streak into Thursday’s game against Jacksonville. Both teams have already clinched a spot in the Atlantic Sun Tournament, but will attempt to position themselves for the league regular season title and a potential quarterfinal bye.