FORT MYERS, Fla. – With sights set on an eighth consecutive ASUN regular season title FGCU women's soccer head coach Jim Blankenship has announced the addition of graduate transfer Kiana Rugar from Albany. Rugar will have one year of eligibility remaining. 

"We are very excited to welcome Kiana to The Nest and the women's soccer family here at FGCU," Blankenship said. "She has proven herself as an excellent college soccer player and she brings valuable experience and leadership qualities to our young 2017 squad. We lost a couple of important attacking pieces with the graduation of our seniors, so when the opportunity to add a player of Kiana's caliber comes along, it was a no-brainer."

The 5'7" redshirt senior forward from New Fairfield, Conn. leaves the University of Albany as the program's all-time career assist leader and second in career points. As a three-year starter for Albany, Rugar was instrumental in helping the Great Danes capturing back-to-back American East tournament championships in 2015 and 2016 as well as winning the American East regular season championship in 2016.

In Rugar's first season of competition with Albany, she garnered American East All-Rookie Team honors while tying the program's single season record for assists while adding five goals. In 2015, she started all 21 matches, splitting time between forward and midfield roles, helping Albany win its first-ever America East tournament championship and the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Rugar finished the 2015 campaign with five goals and five assists, highlighted by her golden goal in the American East Tournament semifinals against Vermont. She followed up the 2015 season by leading the team in goals (6) and assists (4) in 2016 as Albany went on to capture both the American East regular season title as well as the American East tournament crown. Rugar's efforts in 2016 earned her American East All-Conference Second Team recognition as well as American East All-Tournament honors.

Rugar, who will be graduating with a degree in psychology this spring, plans of pursing her masters in environmental studies at FGCU.

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COACH JIM BLANKENSHIP
A veteran of over two decades in collegiate coaching, head coach Jim Blankenship, who was named the ASUN Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015, has built FGCU women's soccer into a yearly contender in the ASUN Conference and a rising program in the South Region in just 10 seasons. Blankenship started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to nine double-digit win seasons, culminating with ASUN Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. In 2011 and 2012 he also led the Eagles to back-to-back ASUN Tournament titles and became the first team in the history of the university to make it to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles went on to win the 2014 ASUN Tournament and hosted the first NCAA Championship event on campus. The Eagles earned their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance with the 2015 ASUN Tournament Championship and won their first NCAA game at USF in 2015, while finishing 24th in the nation. In 2016, the Eagles made it three-consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament with a third-straight ASUN Tournament title. Blankenship has guided FGCU to a 129-47-20 (70.7 W%) overall record through the first 10 seasons of the program's existence, including a 66-10-11 (81.8 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 369-118-31 (74.3 W%) over 25 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events throughout the year to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.