DELAND, Fla. – The quest for an eighth-straight ASUN regular season title officially begins Saturday when the FGCU women's soccer team takes on Stetson. The two sides are scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. in DeLand.

Fans can follow along on Twitter, through live stats, or through a live stream located on Stetson women's soccer's Facebook page.

LAST TIME OUT
It was an anything but normal week for the Eagles. Hurricane Irma forced the Green and Blue to stay in Tucson for four extra days, leading to the postponement of the UCF match originally scheduled for Friday, Sept. 15. As the Eagles began to settle back in, the focus shifted to Webber International and playing in front of their home fans.

FGCU did not disappoint, scoring four times in each half against the Warriors for an 8-0 victory Monday. Varin Ness (Sogndal, Norway/Sogndal Vidaregåande Skule/Carson Newman) led the way with two goals while Marjorie Boilesen (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Porto Seguro/West Florida), Camille Knudstrup (Lakeland, Fla./George Jenkins HS), Holly Fritz (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS/Florida State), Paige Law (Sanibel Island, Fla./Bishop Verot/Stetson), Kiana Rugar (New Fairfield, Conn./New Fairfield HS/Albany), and Nikki Hudson (Baltimore, Md./Roland Park County School/Rutgers) also chipped in with a goal. The eight goals were scored on 10 assists.

FGCU took a single-game, program-record 45 shots in the match.

ASUN AWARD WINNERS
FGCU has claimed four weekly ASUN awards through the first five weeks of the season. Lindsey Patton (Jacksonville, Fla./Oakleaf HS) started off the year, claiming Defensive Player of the Week honors following a goal against #4 South Carolina and anchoring a dominant defensive effort against Georgia Southern.

Boilesen then earned Player of the Week after tallying four points on two goals and two assists, which was followed by a two-goal effort from Fritz that earned the Cape Coral native the same Player of the Week honor.

With 10 saves against Arizona, Melissa Weck (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) was the latest to win Defensive Player of the Week.

Due to Hurricane Irma, FGCU was unable to play its match against UCF and therefore, no players were eligible for the weekly award last week.

RPI WATCH
The first RPI of the season was released earlier in the week with FGCU checking in at No. 46. The Eagles are currently ahead of Mississippi State, Florida State, Northwestern, and Ohio State.

One of FGCU's two losses, South Carolina is currently No. 1 in RPI.

ASUN DOMINATION
Since joining the ASUN Conference the Eagles have been the gold standard. For seven-straight seasons, the Green and Blue have lifted the ASUN regular season trophy and for five of the last six seasons, FGCU has earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with an ASUN Tournament title.

Under Jim Blankenship, the Eagles hold a 66-10-13 record against conference foes in the regular season, a record that only improves when the conference tournament is included (11-0-1).

As part of that impressive run, the Green and Blue are unbeaten in their last 44 matches against conference foes, including the conference tournament. That streak stands as the longest-active streak in the country and the fourth-longest ever.

FGCU also maintains an impressive home record against ASUN foes. The Eagles are 30-0-3 in their last 33 regular season home conference matches. The run of 33-straight unbeaten is the third-longest in the country.

Below is FGCU's record during the regular season and the conference tournament:
 

	ASUN Regular Season			ASUN Tournament
Year	W	L	T	W	L	T
2007	7	4	0	-	-	-
2008	5	2	3	-	-	-
2009%	6	2	2	-	-	-
2010*	8	0	2	-	-	-
2011*&	7	1	1	2	0	0
2012*&^	7	1	1	2	0	0
2013*	7	0	2	1	0	1
2014*&	7	0	0	2	0	0
2015*&	6	0	1	2	0	0
2016*&	6	0	1	2	0	0
Overall	66	10	13	11	0	1

_{*Indicates ASUN Regular Season Title
& Indicates ASUN Tournament Title and NCAA Tournament berth
^ FGCU's last loss against an ASUN opponent: Oct. 5, 2012 at UNF (2-0)
% FGCU's last home loss to an ASUN opponent: Oct. 3, 2009 vs. Campbell (1-0)}

EAGLES RECOGNIZED BY HERO SPORTS
While FGCU is flying under the radar in the United Soccer Coaches' Poll, Hero Sports has the Eagles at #40 in their latest poll. In addition, Hero Sports also has the Green and Blue 46th in their RPI.

THE HATTERS
Unbeaten in five matches, the Hatters begin ASUN play 5-2-1 overall behind the play of Sarah Collins. The reigning ASUN Player of the Week, Collins currently leads the conference with seven goals and sits atop the Stetson record books in the same category. Allison Zaccheo and Linsay Parent have also scored twice this season.

In goal, Emily Plotz returns as the full-time goalkeeper. A Second Team All-Conference selection last year, Plotz has picked up where she left off with a 0.78 goals against average with 37 saves.

FGCU is 10-1 all-time against Stetson with the Green and Blue claiming the last 10 matches. Since the Hatters defeated the Eagles 3-2 in 2007, FGCU has gone on to outscore Stetson 29-4.

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 17 goals and 14 assists through nine matches this season.

REGIONAL RANKINGS
The Eagles remain 12th in the United Soccer Coaches Association Southeast Region alongside the likes of South Carolina, Florida, UCF, Alabama, and Arkansas. FGCU currently has not received a vote in the national poll.

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 136-49-20 (70.7 W%) overall record through the first 11 seasons of the program's existence, including a 66-10-13 (81.8 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 376-120-31 (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.