FORT MYERS, Fla. – Winners of three of its first four matches out of the gate, the FGCU women's soccer team makes its home debut this weekend. The Eagles welcome a trio of teams for their first home tournament since the 2013 season.

Kent State, Liberty, and FAU all make the trip to Fort Myers, each playing two contests. The Eagles are set to face Kent State Friday night (7 p.m.) in the home-opener before taking on Liberty Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.).

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
The full schedule is as follows with links. Further information can be found on the Tournament Central page. All matches will have live stats and will be streamed via Facebook Live.
 

Date | Time	Match	Links
Friday, Sept. 1 | 4:30 PM	FAU vs. Liberty	Stats | Video
Friday, Sept. 1 | 7 PM	FGCU vs. Kent State	Stats | Video
Sunday, Sept. 3 | 10:30 AM	FAU vs. Kent State	Stats | Video
Sunday, Sept. 3 | 1 PM	FGCU vs. Liberty	Stats | Video

WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Fans are encouraged to wear green to Friday's opener for a Green Out. Additionally, the 2016 ASUN regular season and tournament champions will be honored prior to the start of the match as well as FGCU's fifth NCAA Tournament appearance.

Fans are also encouraged to wear white on Sunday for a White Out.

TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets prior to the weekend by visiting FGCUTickets.com or by calling the FGCU Ticket Office at 239-590-7145. Tickets can also be purchased at the Box Office the day of the match. Tickets remain $7 for adults and $5 for youth for a single match.

In addition, an All-Tournament pass is available for $10. 

LAST TIME OUT
It was two wins in two attempts for the Eagles last weekend in Boca Raton. Following a narrow 1-0 victory over Valparaiso to open the FAU Adidas Owl Classic, the Green and Blue exploded for a 5-1 win over Eastern Michigan to conclude the weekend.

Marjorie Boilesen (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Porto Seguro/West Florida) wrapped up the two matches with two goals and two assists to put her atop the ASUN in goals (3), assists (2), and points (8). Silvana Gordon (Medford, NJ/Shawnee HS) netted her second career goal in Friday's match against the Crusaders.

Boilesen, Shay Jackson (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South HS), Lindsey Patton (Jacksonville, Fla./Oakleaf HS), and Varin Ness (Sogndal, Norway/Sogndal Vidaregåande Skule/Carson Newman) each tallied goals against Eastern Michigan.

TWO FOR TWO
It's two ASUN awards in as many weeks for the Green and Blue. After Patton took home Defensive Player of the Week honors following the opening weekend, Boilesen earned Player of the Week accolades Monday for the first time in her young FGCU career. 

The Brazilian was also named to TopDrawer's Team of the Week.

INCOMING CLASS RECEIVES PRAISE
The 13 newcomers brought in by head coach Jim Blankenship ranks among the best incoming classes in the United States. According to a frequent researcher and respected soccer-community member, FGCU has the 17th-best incoming class across all Division I programs. This class, according to Soccerhunter on BigSoccer.com, has FGCU in front on programs such as Florida, Wake Forest, and USF.

The newcomers have already made an impact tallying six goals and five assists through two matches this season.

THE GOLDEN FLASHES
The preseason MAC East favorites are off to a sluggish 1-2 start. The Golden Flashes remain dangerous, returning eight starters from a side that finished with 15 wins last season. Part of that success was because the offense bagged a MAC-best 38 goals last season. Among those returning, Hayden Pascoe and Donavan Capehart combined for 12 goals and nine assists.

In goal, Ashleah McDonald posted seven shutouts en route to 14 total victories and a 0.90 goals against average in 2016.

The Eagles and Golden Flashes have only met once, a 2-1 victory for Kent State in 2010.

THE LADY FLAMES
A NCAA Tournament team in 2016, Liberty is searching for its first win of the season under a new head coach. Winners of the previous two Big South titles, the Lady Flames are 0-2-2 heading into the weekend with losses to Virginia and VCU and draws against Wagner and George Washington. Early in the year, Gabrielle Farrell and Devon Jones have scored the only goals for Liberty.

In goal, Tori Collar has posted a 1.41 goals against average through four contests.

FGCU defeated Liberty last season in the only prior meeting. In that contest, Tabby Tindell scored the lone goal for FGCU.

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 132-48-20 (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 372-119-31 (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.