FORT MYERS, Florida – Junior forward
Albert Ruiz scored three goals, including two in the first half, and added an assist as Florida Gulf Coast earned its fourth straight win with a 5-0 victory over UNCW in a non-conference game at the FGCU Soccer Complex on Saturday evening.
The Eagles improved to 4-2-1 on the season while UNCW dropped to 4-1-0 after having its four-game win streak snapped.
"We are disappointed as a group because we let ourselves down tonight," Coach
Aidan Heaney said. "We made some mistakes and collectively know we can be better. FGCU is a good team and was able to capitalize on its chances. This is a crazy thing to say but we created a number of really good chances that we weren't able to finish."
After junior forward
Jiro Barriga Toyama gave FGCU a 1-0 lead in the 15th minute, Ruiz scored three consecutive goals to extend the advantage to 4-0 just over three minutes into the second half.
Sophomore midfielder
Dennis Zapata completed the Eagles' scoring in the 71st minute when he scored on a free kick from 40 yards for his third goal of the season.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Ryan Cretens made a season-high five saves for the Seahawks, who outshot the Eagles by a 16-12 margin. Sophomore goalkeeper
Sawyer Jackman tallied three saves en route to his first shutout of the season.
"We will move on and focus on playing Charlotte at home Tuesday," Heaney said. "Hopefully our fans will come out and support us, and I am certain our players will respond from a tough result."
#SeahawkStats: The start of the game was delayed nearly an hour due to inclement weather … Florida Gulf Coast has won both meetings against UNCW in the all-time series … The Eagles earned a 1-0 win in last year's inaugural meeting in Wilmington … UNCW held a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks … The Seahawks have outshot their opponent in four of five games this season … Sophomore midfielder
Ben Fisher led UNCW with four shots.
Up Next for UNCW: The Seahawks return home on Tuesday, Sept. 20, to host No. 9 Charlotte at UNCW Soccer Stadium for a non-conference game at 7 p.m.
College Men's Soccer: Florida Gulf Coast 5, UNCW 0
UNCW 0-0 / 0
Florida Gulf Coast 3-2 / 5
Goals: UNCW – n/a; FGCU – Albert Ruiz 3 (29:21, 41:26, 48:02), Jiro Barriga Toyama (14:44), Dennis Zapata (70:03).
Assists: UNCW – n/a; FGCU – Albert Ruiz, Sawyer Jackman, Preston Kilwien, Justin Gavin.
Saves: UNCW –
Ryan Cretens 5 (90:00, 5 goals allowed); FGCU – Sawyer Jackman 4 (90:00, 0 goals allowed).
Shots: UNCW – 16; FGCU – 12.
Corner Kicks: UNCW – 7; FGCU – 0.
Attendance: 346.
