FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the first time in two-and-a-half weeks, the FGCU men's soccer team (4-5-3, 3-0-0 Atlantic Sun Conference) returns to the FGCU Soccer Complex for a mid-week non-conference matchup against in-state foe FAU (1-8-2, 1-3-1 Conference USA) Tuesday night at 7.
 
IN SHORT
The contest with the Owls will mark the final non-league home game for FGCU as the Eagles will be looking to snap a four-game winning streak in the series for FAU. All-time, FAU holds a 4-2 edge in the series and has claimed each of the last four meetings after FGCU began the series with wins in 2007 and 2008.
 
WHAT TO KNOW
The game – presented by Ted Todd Insurance – is a whiteout with all fans in attendance encouraged to wear white. The match will be video streamed free of charge by visiting ASun.TV or clicking on the link associated with this release. Live stats will also be available by following the attached link. FGCU students, faculty and staff are admitted free of charge with their Eagle ID, while adult tickets start at $6, a family pack (good for two adults and 3-5 children) is $18 and groups of 10 or more are $3. For additional ticket information, visit FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets.
 
Fans are encouraged to download the brand-new Wings Up mobile app in conjunction with SuperFanU prior to arriving at Tuesday's match. The fully-customized loyalty-rewards platform allows fans to check in at each of FGCU's sporting events to earn points throughout the school year toward exclusive prizes that won't be offered anywhere else.
 
LAST TIME THEY MET
Playing with only 10 men for the final 50 minutes of the game, FGCU fought back from a 2-0 second-half deficit to force overtime, but ultimately fell in the 106th minute at FAU last year, 3-2. Santiago Echeverri (Medellin, Colombia./Celebration HS) scored in the 61st minute to put the Eagles on the board before Henry Penagos (Margate, Fla./American Heritage School of Boca) tallied the equalizer just seven minutes later. However, FAU's Ryan Price completed his hat trick by scoring in the first minute of the second OT.
 
SCOUTING FAU
The Owls' lone win of the year came earlier this month when FAU traveled to West Virginia and defeated fellow Conference USA member Marshall, 3-0. Price returns this year and has once again led the FAU offensive attack as his six goals are twice as many as anyone else on the roster and account for 43 percent of the Owls' entire goal production on the season (14).
 
FAU opened the season with losses at A-Sun members North Florida, 5-2, and Jacksonville, 2-0. The match against the Eagles will be the first of a four-game road trip for the Owls, who will be playing their final non-conference game. Of the 210 Division-I men's soccer programs in the nation, FAU ranks 189th in goals-against average (2.16). Goalkeeper Theo Jamilloux is 50th in the nation in saves per game (4.45) and 61st in total saves (49).

LAST TIME OUT
FGCU couldn't overcome two first-half goals as No. 23 Louisville halted the Eagles' three-game winning streak with a 2-1 non-conference victory last Tuesday night. FGCU's goal came on a penalty kick by Isaiah Madrid (Albuquerque, N.M./Eldorado HS/Westminster) in the final minute of the first half. The reigning A-Sun Freshman of the Year stepped up and fired his shot inside the left netting for his second career PK finish and second goal in the last three games after being held scoreless through the first six matches of the year.
 
Louisville, which was ranked No. 6 in the nation two weeks ago by the official NCAA poll (NSCAA/Continental Tire), was receiving votes in the latest poll after suffering through a four-game losing streak. However, the Cardinals – who netted goals in the 10th and 40th minutes – were ranked No. 23 in the country by Top Drawer Soccer (one of the nation's most reputable soccer media outlets) entering the contest.
 
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE
FAU will be just the latest test in a grueling non-conference schedule for FGCU which head coach Bob Butehorn has called the most difficult in program history. Despite a sub-.500 record, FGCU has an RPI of 93 – the highest among all A-Sun teams – as a result of the demanding non-league slate, which includes seven top-60 RPI programs and three top-25 RPI teams.
 
FGCU has always played a challenging non-conference schedule, and as it has shown the Eagles have used that to prepare for the league slate. Of the nine non-conference opponents FGCU has faced already, five were either nationally ranked or receiving votes in the national poll, while the other four had defeated nationally-ranked teams.
 
Below is FGCU's record each season since 2010 before playing its first conference game and then its record for the remainder of the season following its first league contest:
 
2010: 4-2-2 > 10-1-1
2011: 3-2-2 > 9-4-0
2012: 3-4-1 > 8-2-1
2013: 2-5-1 > 6-2-1
2014: 1-4-3 > 3-1-0
Total: 13-17-9 > 36-10-3
 
Some of those opponents following FGCU's first A-Sun match were not conference foes, but the Eagles have clearly used the non-league slate to help pave the way to their four straight A-Sun regular-season championships.
 
DEFENSIVE-MINDED
FGCU boasts the best defense in the A-Sun and one of the best defensive units in the entire nation. The Eagles lead the A-Sun in goals-against average (0.78), fewest goals allowed (10) and shutouts (4). Nationally, FGCU ranks 33rd in goals-against average, and its team save percentage of .815 is 34th-best in the country.
 
Individually, Nathan Ingham (Keswick, Ontario/Keswick HS) has four shutouts to his name this year. His .811 save percentage easily leads the conference (no one else is even at .760), and he is the only goalie in the A-Sun with a goals-against average below 1.0. His 0.78 average is 35th in the nation, while his save percentage is 38th in the country.
 
Looking closer at the goals FGCU has allowed this year, only three of the 10 have come in the regular run of play. The other seven have come in the form of an own goal, set-piece strike, two penalty kicks and three corners.
 
THEY'RE BACK
FGCU scored 27 goals last season, and all 27 were from players who returned this year. The 100-percent return rate is the best in the country, tied with SIU Edwardsville which only scored 14 goals in 2013.
 
Highest Pct. of Goals Returning
1.    FGCU – 100.0 (27/27)
       SIU Edwardsville – 100.0 (14/14)
3.    Evansville – 97.1 (33/34)
4.    Syracuse – 96.7 (29/30)
5.    North Carolina – 89.5 (17/19)
6.    Missouri State – 88.2 (15/17)
7.    Virginia – 86.6 (39/45)
       Buffalo – 86.6 (13/15)
9.    NJIT – 84.0 (21/25)
       Duke – 84.0 (21/25)
11.  FIU – 81.5 (22/27)
12.  UAB – 81.4 (35/43)
13.  Cincinnati – 81.3 (13/16)
14.  Connecticut – 80.6 (29/36)
15.  South Carolina – 80.0 (20/25)
 
ATTENDANCE RECORD
FGCU's 5,392 total home attendance through six games is already the most for a single season in program history. The Eagles, who easily lead the A-Sun in total attendance, surpassed the previous all-time single-season record of 4,955 fans from 2011 in their last home game on Oct. 4 against Stetson. FGCU still has at least three home matches remaining in the regular season, and would host the conference tournament if it earns the top seed.
 
A-SUN DOMINANCE
FGCU has won four-straight A-Sun regular-season championships and is in position to stretch that to five as the Eagles are currently in first place with a perfect 3-0 mark and 9 points. FGCU is tied with Stetson (3-1, 9 points), however, the Green and Blue still have one game in hand over the Hatters, and also own a 1-0 head-to-head triumph earlier this year.
 
FGCU has not lost a home regular-season A-Sun game since 2008, a stretch of 24 in a row in which the Eagles are unbeaten (22-0-2). Included in that run is a 19-game winning streak, which was snapped in the second-to-last match last year when the Green and Blue tied Mercer, 0-0. FGCU's last home regular-season A-Sun loss came to Jacksonville, 2-0, on Oct. 19, 2008.
 
The Eagles have an overall record of 31-3-2 in all A-Sun regular-season games since the start of the 2010 season. All three of those conference losses have come on the road, and out of a possible 108 points that could have been earned in that time, the Eagles have claimed an impressive 95 of them.
 
NEXT UP
FGCU will remain at home when it takes on North Florida (5-5, 2-2 A-Sun) Friday at 7 p.m. UNF ended FGCU's season last year in the A-Sun Championship by virtue of a 2-1 victory in the tournament semifinals. UNF is currently in fourth place in the A-Sun standings with 6 points, one behind Lipscomb with 7 (2-1-1).
 
For men's soccer ticket information, visit the Alico Arena Ticket Office, call 239-590-7145 or log on to FGCUAthletics.com/Tickets. For up-to-the minute information and a behind-the-scenes look at the program, follow on Twitter @FGCU_MSoccer and Instagram @FGCU_MSoccer.
 
FGCU is led by Bob Butehorn, who has coached 30 A-Sun All-Conference selections since FGCU started its program in 2007. In just three years of postseason eligibility, Butehorn has guided FGCU to the NCAA Tournament twice – in 2011 and 2012 – and has won an unprecedented four-straight A-Sun regular-season championships. His teams have been ranked nationally on several occasions by multiple media outlets, and in 2013 he won his 100th career game.