Men's Soccer Falls to FGCU On the Road Sunday Afternoon
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont (6-8-2, 2-3-2 A-Sun) | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Fla. Gulf Coast (8-4-2, 5-1-0 A-Sun) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Scoring Summary | |
|---|---|
| 1st - 2:30 | ANTE, Kevin (Fla. Gulf Coast) |
| 1st - 11:54 | MIRANDA, Pedro (Belmont) |
| 1st - 17:06 | SILVA, Xavier (Fla. Gulf Coast) |
| 2nd - 78:12 | SARRIS, Yianni (Fla. Gulf Coast) |
| Belmont | Fla. Gulf Coast |
|---|---|
|
G:
Pedro Miranda - 1
A: Diego Figueroa - 1 Sh: Brandon Tarr - 4 Sv: Lou Manning - 3 |
G:
3 Players (#4, #14, #21 - 1)
A: 6 Players (#2, #8, #14, #16, #26, #29 - 1) Sh: PATTERSON, Nick - 3 Sv: INGHAM, Nathan - 6 |
| TEAM STATISTICS | Belmont | Fla. Gulf Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Shots (on goal) | 14 (7) | 15 (7) |
| Saves | 4 | 6 |
| Fouls | 13 | 14 |
| Corner Kicks | 3 | 6 |
| Offsides | 6 | 2 |
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Junior Pedro Miranda (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) scored the lone Bruin goal as the Belmont men's soccer team (6-8-2, 2-3-2) fell to Florida Gulf Coast (8-4-2, 5-1-0) by a score of 3-1 on Sunday afternoon in Fort Myers.
FGCU, which clinched a berth to the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament earlier in the weekend, didn't take long to garner the advantage against the Bruins. Kevin Ante scored no more than two and a half minutes into the game to make it 1-0 in favor of the Eagles.
BU countered quickly though, as Miranda finished off a rebounded shot by sophomore Diego Figueroa (Pensacola, Fla.) to tie the game at 1-1 in the 12th minute of play. The score marked Miranda's second of the year, and it was Figueroa's third assist on the season.
Up a man after a FGCU red card in the 12th minute, Belmont failed to hold the Eagles defensively. Gulf Coast scored less than six minutes after the Bruins' equalizer, taking the lead once again, at 2-1. Xavier Silver, who assisted on the first goal of the contest, scored his third goal of the year in the 18th minute.
The scoreboard remained quiet for the rest of the half and most of the second period, as FGCU was content in defending the one goal advantage while down a man. Late in the second half, while Belmont was feverishly attempting to tie the game at 2-2 on a corner kick, the Eagles put another goal past BU on a counter attack to make it 3-1 in the 79th minute.
The contest proved to be extremely competitive as FGCU outshot Belmont by a mark of 15-14, and totaled six corner kicks to the Bruins' three. Junior Lou Manning (Southlake, Texas) recorded three saves in the defeat, while Nathan Ingham tallied six for the Eagles in victory.
"Honestly we just didn't finish our chances," Head Coach Earle Davidson said. "We played well enough to win it, but we lost our focus briefly on a couple of key plays. Other than that, we controlled the game and had the better chances, but we simply didn't finish them."
Belmont remains tied with USC Upstate for fifth place in the A-Sun standings with eight conference points. Next Sunday's league regular season finale against Mercer will be integral to the Bruins' playoff hopes as the Bears are one point behind in the standings. BU will host Mercer on Sunday, October 30 at 1:00 p.m. at Rose Park.
