BOCA RATON, Fla. – A
Silvana Gordon goal midway through the first half proved to be the winner as the FGCU women's soccer team defeated Valparaiso 1-0 Friday night. The Eagles (2-1) closed out the win withstanding late pressure from the Crusaders (2-1) while also securing the second shutout of the year.
"It's early so I'm not quite sure if that's going to be us," said head coach
Jim Blankenship. "I have to give the girls credit though; they limited the chances of a really good team. It became a little chaotic at the end but Weck made a couple nice saves to preserve it. We talk about getting three points on the road, we did, and we kept a clean slate and got a nice goal from Silvana. We had a couple really nice opportunities that could have put it away but I liked how defensively we worked at the end because they had a couple scrambles that were really concerning but we dealt with them."
Gordon (Medford, NJ/Shawnee HS) put the Eagles ahead in the 26th minute with her second career goal, depositing the ball back across goal. After
Marjorie Boilesen (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Porto Seguro/West Florida) dropped into the midfield, she picked out
Nikki Hudson (Baltimore, Md./Roland Park County School/Rutgers) with a clever chip over the defense. The senior settled the ball, turned and was dispossessed in the box. As the referee waived off the penalty, the ball rolled to Gordon who caught the goalkeeper going the wrong way to put her side in front.
FGCU saw more of the ball in the first half with the first dangerous opportunity coming 20 minutes into the match on a set piece. The Eagles tried to spring
Holly Fritz (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS/Florida State) but the Cape Coral-native sent her effort wide of goal.
Five minutes later the Green and Blue took the lead on Gordon's first of the season, allowing FGCU to go into halftime with the lead.
Melissa Weck (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) was tested early in the second half, making a routine save to preserve the lead. Five minutes into the half, FGCU began to put Valparaiso on its heels. Off a set piece, the ball bounced around the Crusader's box, finding the feet of Hudson who just missed putting the ball on frame for what would have been a 2-0 lead.
Varin Ness (Sogndal, Norway/Sogndal Vidaregåande Skule/Carson Newman) then had a shot blocked minutes later as the pressure continued to build in the attacking third.
The Crusaders were able to build against the run of play, earning a corner that resulted in a header that went wide.
The addition of
Lauren Moss (Boulder, Colo./Boulder HS) midway through the second half saw the freshman tally a pair of shots, the first was saved while the second, a header, went above the bar.
The Eagles again nearly doubled the advantage in the 80th minute when
Paige Law (Sanibel Island, Fla./Bishop Verot/Stetson) and Ness connected with the latter attempting to find the far post but narrowly missing.
Valparaiso had one final chance, a corner with seven minutes remaining, that resulted in a pair of point-blank saves for Weck and a blocked shot.
Weck (2-1) finished the night with four saves for her 12th career shutout.
UP NEXT
The Eagles remain in Boca Raton to face Eastern Michigan Sunday at 11 a.m. to close out the FAU Owl Adidas Classic.
FOLLOW ALONG
For constant, news, photos, videos and updates you can follow the women's soccer team on Twitter @FGCU_WSoccer, on Instagram @FGCU_WSoccer or on Facebook: Facebook.com/FGCUWSoccer. You can also find FGCU athletics on YouTube by visiting YouTube.com/FGCUEagles.
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 131-48-20 (70.7 W%) overall record through the first 11 seasons of the program's existence, including a 66-10-11 (81.8 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 371-119-31 (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.
