The UCA men’s soccer team eked out a 1-1 tie against Florida Gulf Coast University on Oct. 21 despite a UCA player being ejected from the game after a red card penalty, leaving the Bears with just 10 players on the field for the last 25 minutes of the match.
The FGCU Eagles (3-5-5, 2-1-3 ASUN) kept UCA goalkeeper and sophomore Javier Ramirez busy with an aggressive offense on their home turf.
The Eagles made 11 shots on goal and 24 shots total compared with UCA’s two shots on goal and 10 shots total in the game.
Neither team actually scored until well into the second half, with the Eagles breaking the seal; FGCU junior forward Niall Reid-Stephen scored the first goal of the game 56 minutes in.
UCA (2-7-4 1-2-3 ASUN) responded five minutes later with sophomore forward Pietro Fontana’s 11th goal of the season. According to ucasports.com, Fontana is the 11th player in the history of the men’s soccer program to score 11 goals in a single season.
The tie is the second in a row for the Bears after they went 1-1 at home against Stetson University on Oct. 14 following a string of three losses.
UCA now has six conference points, tied in 5th place with Queens University of Charlotte, and can still potentially qualify for a spot in the ASUN championship bracket.
The Bears’ next game will determine whether they will continue to the championship.
With only one conference win and two ties, the Bears have just one team ranked beneath them — the University of North Florida Ospreys, who have no conference wins and a single point.
Lipscomb University, in first place with 15 conference points, and Stetson University, in second place with 11 points, have both already clinched the ASUN championship berth, meaning they are both locked in to compete in the championships.
This match is the third time the Bears have faced the Eagles and the second time they’ve tied them.
The Bears will return home for their final ASUN conference game against the University of North Florida on Oct. 28 before the championships begin Nov. 4.