The FGCU men’s soccer team tied 1-1 with the Bellarmine Knights on Saturday, Oct. 7, as they hosted Pink Out Night.
With an overall record of 3-2-3 and a conference record of 2-0-1, the Eagles were coming into this game off of a 2-1 road win over North Florida while riding a two game win streak.
To start off, both teams struggled to move the ball in the first half, with a lot of shots off target. There was only one save by the Knights in the first half.
Early in the second half, the Knights got on the board on a corner kick in the 46th minute. The Eagles responded with a more aggressive offensive attack throughout the rest of the half with eight shots in the second half compared to four in the first half.
FGCU had an initial opportunity to tie the game around halfway through the second half when graduate student and forward Gustavo Ferrari attempted a penalty kick, but that was saved by Bellarmine.
The Eagles were finally able to tie the score late in the game in the 81st minute as sophomore forward Jaffer Murphy finished off Niall Reid-Stephen’s free kick for Murphy’s first goal of the season.
Another opportunity to get a late goal for the Eagles arised near the end of the game, but the Knights defended their net well, resulting in the final score of 1-1 as both teams earned a draw. FGCU is now 3-2-4 overall and 2-0-2 in conference play.
Lots of fouls became the biggest issue of the game. The Eagles committed seven fouls in the first half and 11 in the second half, earning two yellow cards in the process. The Knights only had one foul in the first half and five in the second half, but three of their second half fouls earned yellow cards.
Coming up next, the men’s team will have a big road trip. First, they will take on the North Carolina Tar Heels, who are currently ranked 13th nationally in the US Coaches poll, today. After that, they will battle Lipscomb, who is currently undefeated in ASUN play and are the only team to clinch a conference tournament berth, on Saturday.
The Eagles will host their next home game against the FIU Panthers, who are currently ranked 25th nationally, next Tuesday.
