DELAND, Fla. – Hatter men's soccer accomplished a few historic feats in the match up with FGCU, but the most important was the 6-3 win that locked up the third seed in the upcoming ASUN tournament.

"We had nine days to prepare about coming out fast and hard with pressing," head coach Emmett Rutkowski said "One of our biggest strengths this has been on set pieces. Coach Jaime [Ibarra] has been really working on that and the players executed really well. We've been practice and it was such an amazing goal by Alo [Alessandro Gabbani] assisted by Charles [Ahl]. There's moments when Gabi [Gabriel Toro] and Luis [Lara] are getting the ball, driving and executing in the boxes. There were sloppy moments from us at times and we need to manage the game better, but we were really prepared and I could tell the guys really wanted it. It's a fun team to coach, and at the end I was so proud of Steele Norton, the way he was playing and working. He gets the penalty and embodied the total culture we are trying to instill here by kind of taking the bull by the horns then gave it to Fuentes. That just shows you how much the guys want to win and how special it was for Fuentes to finish it off like that."

It was an absolute blitz from the outset as the Hatters were pressing the Eagle players from the first whistle. Less than a minute in, Stetson earned a corner kick. Seventy-six seconds after the opening whistle, SU was celebrating the opening goal, the fastest goal scored in series history with FGCU. Charles Ahl's corner kick was volleyed by Alessandro Gabbani after a long corner-kick set piece.

After 121 seconds the home side doubled the advantage. Ahl connected with Gabriel Toro as the winger sped down the right sideline. The sophomore's cross connected with Andres Mata in the box and the Hatter forward was clinical to beat Eagle goalkeeper Wyatt Kistner, 2-nil to the home side.

Florida Gulf Coast found an answer one minute 44 seconds later. Interplay between Aiden Jokomba and Aedon Kyra created an opening in the Hatter defense with Jokomba dealing the strike to half the advantage, 2-1, five minutes one second played.

SU reestablished the two-goal margin 75 seconds later. Tom DiLorenzo played a through-ball that sprung Toro down the right. The winger sent in a high cross this time and Luis Lara ran through the ball, put his head down and knocked in the third Hatter goal of the night, 3-1, at the 6:16 mark.

After some interplay between the sides, Gabbani played the ball to the back line just trying to retain possession. Daniel Wintermeier stepped up to meet the midfielder's pass and knocked the ball into a gap between the FGCU back line that Mata ran to meet. The forward rounded the keeper and sent a side-footed pass into the net marking the fastest four goals in Stetson's recorded history, the play concluding with 9:49 elapsed game time. The two goals on the week earned Mata the ASUN player of the week award.

FGCU clawed back in it with Markus Maurer converting at the 26:04 mark, 4-2, Anthony Gagliardi picking up an assist on the play as that score would hold through halftime.

The offense continued through the second half with Lara tallying a second goal from a corner kick. Kelvin Zinck smacked a free kick over the top for Lara upfront. A defender headed the ball out for a corner. Ahl and Lara were aligned for a short corner potentially before the movement put Lara out from the near post. Ahl's kick went over the top when Gabbani headed it to near post, Lara sent the ball goalward where it took a deflection and found its way into the net [5-2].

As the game wore down and was out of competition, both teams rotated players, resting and protecting players for the upcoming ASUN tournament. The fresh players wanted to mark their place on the postseason roster and Steele Norton attempted to make his way on to Steton's as the redshirt freshman won a penalty in the dying embers of the match. As most of the veteran players had rotated off by then, the option was left to Norton and he opted to allow Alex Fuentes take the spot kick. The senior midfielder netted his first goal as a Hatter with a successful make netting the sixth goal for the home side, 6-2.

The Eagles added a late marker, Jack Bole with 49 seconds left in the match, but that score would hold through to the final horn [6-3].

Hatter men's soccer now turns it's attention to the ASUN tournament with a first-round match up with Bellarmine. The match will take place Saturday in Conway, Arkansas, at Bill Stephens Soccer Complex, kickoff at 6 p.m.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS (PDF). Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision