FORT MYERS, Fla. – Jacksonville University's men's soccer team put on quite a show in the ASUN Conference Tournament. The Dolphins defeated the New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2-1, in the opening round, shutout the regular season champions North Florida, 1-0, in the semifinals and nearly walked away with the league title Saturday night.

As the fourth No. 5 seed to advance to the finals in the ASUN's 24-year tournament history, Jacksonville twice tied the match before falling, 3-2, to No. 2 Florida Gulf Coast. 

"Our progression and maturation began in the preseason," said Head Coach Mauricio Ruiz. "We're a different team [from a year ago]. From day one, we came together, worked on the little things, and kept it consistent on what we wanted to accomplish. Winning a trophy is always the ultimate goal, but we hold ourselves to a standard, and that's why our guys didn't quit."

FGCU used back-to-back shots for an early 1-0 advantage – the first was brilliantly saved by Patrick Harding, and its deflection was one-touched by Albert Ruiz –but Diego Sanchez erased the deficit 10 minutes later.

At the 24:08 mark, Kai Bennett slipped a through-ball up the right side, and Sanchez gunned it downfield with a pair of Eagle defenders on his tail and a charging goalie out in front.

His 18-yard shot slid to the left of Jared Brown for the 1-1 tie, but the Eagles entered halftime with a 2-1 edge after Eli Roubos headed in a corner kick. 

With a little over 10 minutes remaining in the match, both sides found the back of the net. Junior forward Ejiroghene Mrabure led the Dolphins' offensive efforts in his first two seasons, but it was his first goal of the 2016-17 campaign that sent the Green and White to its feet.

Sanchez headed a throw-in to Mrabure, and he tucked a shot through the legs of the Eagle keeper (78:17).

"It was anyone's game," continued Ruiz. "We played well enough in the first half, and created good enough chances. I just asked them to keep believing in what they were doing, push a little more, and trust the system. We got there, and it was just unfortunate that we gave up another goal."

In a similar play to his first-half strike, Roubos notched the game-winner on a corner kick.

Harding finished the evening with five saves, and his fourth stop set an ASUN record for the most in the league tournament (20). He joined Allan Morgan and Bennett on the all-tournament team.