It’s that time of the year again. One of six teams in the Atlantic Sun Conference will be crowned champion, but this year is as unpredictable as they come. Top seed Florida Gulf Coast University is the defending champion and should be the favorite to win it all. One cannot count out ETSU as they have a knack for stringing together wins in the tournament. The Bucs come in as a No. 3 seed. Mercer occupies the No. 2 seed and could be the biggest surprise of the tournament, but USC Upstate has flown under everyone’s radar. The Spartans clinched the No. 4 spot after being picked to not even qualify for the tournament during the preseason. Let’s take a glance at these teams and what each will bring to Fort Myers, Fla., once the tournament begins on Wednesday.

FGCU
6-1-1, 9-5-2
The Eagles are on a roll and they may just glide over the competition after clinching home field advantage Saturday by defeating Mercer, 1-0. FGCU has reeled off six straight wins coming into the tournament and get a bye before facing off against the winner of the Lipscomb/USC Upstate game.
During their win streak, the Eagles have defeated the top three seeds in the tournament going back to Oct. 12 when they defeated the Spartans, 1-0. What may be a challenge for the Eagles is if Lipscomb advances and FGCU has to face them. Lipscomb was the last team to defeat FGCU when it tallied three goals against the Eagles’ one.
Ê

Mercer
6-2-0, 11-6-1
Mercer will face off against the ETSU/Jacksonville winner and could hold the best spot in the tournament.
The Bears defeated ETSU at Summers-Taylor Stadium 2-1 back at the end of September, but fell to Jacksonville a few weeks ago by a score of 2-1.
Junior forward Ehjayson Henry has the ability to bring all the firepower the Bears will need to win the championship.
Henry is tied atop the conference standings with 12 points, five goals.
He also holds two game-winning goals on the season so don’t be surprised if he nets another one in the A-Sun tournament.
Ê

ETSU
5-2-1, 9-6-3
Last year, the Bucs came into the tournament as a No. 6 seed, but knocked off No. 3 seed Jacksonville and No. 2 seed Stetson to make an appearance in the championship.
The year prior, the Bucs took home the trophy after qualifying as No. 1 seed and sweeping the competition.
ETSU has one of the most exhilarating strikers in the conference, junior David Geno. The Kinsport, Tenn., native is in the top three in goals scored and assists in the conference, while the Bucs’ goalkeeper Ryan Coulter holds the top spot with a .61 average goals against mark.
ETSU fell to both Mercer and  FGCU during season play.
Ê

USC Upstate
3-4-1, 5-9-2
The Spartans finished their season with a 3-4-1 conference record, but still clinched a berth in the tournament – the first in program’s history. USC Upstate will take on Lipscomb in the first round of play and the Spartans may have a chance to make some noise. The Spartans defeated the Bison in overtime a few weeks back, and they gave ETSU a run for their money in Saturday’s season finale resulting in a 1-1 tie. The Spartans post a strong defense with goalkeeper Dani Alvarado sitting in second in the A-Sun with a .822 saves percentage. Sophomore Dave Musambi leads the offensive attack with five goals and two assists.
Ê

Author