Men's Soccer Free Kicks - Week 3

We are one week away from the beginning of the conference season as the 10 teams across the league wrap up the non-conference season. This will also be the final week before we pick a new name for the men’s and women’s soccer blog so continue to send in your suggestions to our Facebook and Twitter account for a chance to win an A-Sun Apparel package.

FGCU Takes Down Another Ranked Team
On Saturday, FGCU welcomed the No. 5 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes into Ft. Myers for the FGCU Kick-Off Classic and the Buckeyes left with a 1-0 loss as the Eagles’ freshman Ryan Price headed in the lone goal of the game in the 64th minute to stun the visiting Buckeyes. For their win and 1-1 tie with Drexel, who is ranked fifth in the South Atlantic region, on Thursday, FGCU earned a seventh place ranking in the latest edition of the NSCAA South Region Poll. Video Interview

Campbell Breaks through with Victory Over Niners
Not to be outdone by its A-Sun brethren, Campbell defeated the Charlotte 49ers, 2-1, on Saturday for the first time since Oct. 2, 1990. Khalil Johnson, a senior forward, registered two second-half goals before Charlotte, who defeated then-No. 14 Wake Forest earlier in the week, scored a late goal to cut the deficit to one. For his efforts, Johnson earned the A-Sun Player of the Week honors.

Mercer’s Shutter Earns National Team of the Week Honor
The Bears sophomore Josh Shutter was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week after scoring two goals in a 2-1 victory against Georgia State. Shutter scored the game’s opening goal in the first half and then added the game-winner in the 85th minute to seal the victory against the Panthers. The victory moved Mercer to 3-1-1 on the season and its best start after five games since going 4-1 to start the 2007 season.

Brustad Tallies Four-Minute Hat Trick
Stetson's Fredrik Brustad registered three goals in the Hatters 4-1 win against the Manhattan Jaspers. Brustad scored his first two goals in the 50th minute before recording his final goal in the 54th minute to put the game out of reach. Brustad, the A-Sun Preseasoon Player of the Year, leads Stetson in scoring with four goals and nine points. Brustad Interview

A-Sun Teams on the Winning End
At this point of the non-conference season, six of the 11 teams in the A-Sun have records of .500 or better, four of which are winning records. In comparison at the end of last season only two teams finished with a .500 record or better (FGCU and Stetson).

Tough Opponents Ahead For A-Sun Teams
In the final week of non-conference play, the A-Sun squares off against three regionally-ranked teams and one top-10 team. Campbell faces UNC-Greensboro, No. 8 in South Region, on Wednesday, while FGCU hosts Florida International, No. 5 in the South Region, on Friday. In a Sunday showdown, Jacksonville faces the No. 9 team in the nation, SMU, who has already faced one A-Sun team earlier in the season in Lipscomb.

Quote of the Week
"I'm proud of the way that our team was able to come together and pull out a victory against a quality opponent," said Campbell head coach Steve Armas. From opening day until now, we've had a lot of growth in the way we play and it clicked today for us. I credit our kids for pushing each other to be successful and I'm extremely proud of their efforts."