The Stetson men's soccer team returned to its winning ways Sunday with a 2-1 victory over conference foe Florida Gulf Coast University. Stetson had won four matches in a row before dropping one to Campbell last week. A match it clearly dominated from start to finish. The Hatters hope that today's win will be the impetus for another successful streak.
It was an impressive performance for Stetson who finished with an 18-3 advantage in shots. The lone goal by FGCU came on a penalty shot that was awarded due to a hand ball in the box. The Eagles' Jonahan Koshko made sure that the opportunity did not go to waste.
“The goal we gave up on the penalty shot overshadowed the fact that we gave up only three shots on goal. We created 18 chances, we just need to make sure we hit the back of the net more often”, said Hatters Head Coach Logan Fleck. “Our back line and midfield played very well today”.
The Hatters opened up the scoring at 28:55 when freshman Eugene Starikov took a long pass from senior Richard Porteous and then dribbled around the FGCU goalkeeper for an open shot at the net. It was his 4th goal of the season and tied him for the team lead in points with eight.
The Eagles' score came with 27:52 remaining in the match to tie the score. At the time it was reminiscent of the Campbell match where the Hatters controlled play yet did not get a win to show for the effort.
A relentless attack for the remainder of the period quelled those fears when senior Tanner Wolfe connected with sophomore Griffin Gilstrap in the box for the winning goal at 83:57. It was the first goal of the season and of his career for Gilstrap. It was the third assist of the season for Wolfe who retook the team lead in points with 9.
The Hatters, who were ranked #7 in the South Region in this week's NSCAA poll, raised their record to 6-3-0 overall, and 2-1-0 in A-Sun conference play. FGCU dropped to 5-5-1 and 1-1-1. Stetson will return to the pitch on Friday, October 12 when they travel to Jacksonville to take on the University of North Florida in another A-Sun Conference match (7:00 p.m.). They will return to Jacksonville on Sunday to play Jacksonville University, also at 7:00 p.m.
