NASHVILLE, TN- For 80 minutes, the 4th seeded FGCU Eagles (13-3-2) dominated play in their ASUN Quarterfinal matchup with 5th seeded Liberty (6-11-0), leading comfortably 2-0 going into the final 10 minutes of regulation.  However, with their season on the line, Liberty came alive, scoring in the 83rd minute and getting a number of chances late, including in the closing seconds, before the final horn sounded in a 2-1 FGCU win.  The Eagles advance to the ASUN semifinals where they will take on top seeded Lipscomb on Sunday in a 2 PM first kick, with the winner getting a shot at the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament next weekend.

"I am proud our ladies and how well they handled the pressure at the end of the game to live to play another day" head coach Jim Blankenship said.  "Melissa (Weck) made a big save late and the defense held up for us again."

The first 10 minutes of the contest saw most of the play occur in the middle third of the pitch. 

The first shot for either team came in the 13th minute, an attempt on goal by Liberty. FGCU keeper Melissa Weck (Yorba Linda, CA/Esperanza HS) made a big save on the play, but it came at a cost as seconds later, she was involved in a collision in the box and was forced to leave the game. 

 Weck found her way back into the game four minutes later and was tested again and made another save in the 26th minute to keep it scoreless contest. 

The Eagles didn't get their first shot on goal until the 28th minute, but they made it count as Marjorie Boilesen (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Porto Seguro/West Florida) made a nice run from the midfield and found Evdokia Popadinova (Hadzidimovo, Bulgaria/Nikola Vaptsarov/Northwestern Ohio) who put away her league leading 14th goal of the season to put FGCU on top 1-0. 

The Green and Blue had another chance late in the half as they again stormed toward the Lady Flame net, but their shot hit the outside of the net in the 43rd minute to send the game to the half 1-0 in favor of the Eagles. 

It was a quiet half for both offenses as FGCU managed just three shots and Liberty only two. 

Early in the second half, FGCU threatened to add on as Popadinova send a beautiful cross to the front of the net, but the Eagle header sailed just over the bar to keep it a 1-0 game.

Moments later they drew a foul deep in the attacking third and Camille Knudstrup (Lakeland, FL/George Jenkins HS) curled a ball into the box and it found the head of Cassidy Morgan (Weston, FL/Cypress Bay HS) who tucked it into the back of the net for her third of the year to stretch the Eagle lead to 2-0.

FGCU controlled the pace and looked to be in complete control as they held Liberty without a single shot for the first 27 minutes of the second half, but in the 73rd minute the Lady Flames broke through and looked to have cut the lead to one, but their shot clanged off the right post and the Eagles let out an exhale as they held onto the two goal advantage. 

The Eagles had a chance to put it away in the 77th minute as Boilesen and Popadinova sliced through the defense to get Silvana Gordon (Medford, NJ/Shawnee HS) a point blank look, but the Liberty keeper made a season saving stop to keep it a 2-0 game. 

The save seemed to have lit a fire back under the Lady Flames as they used a rebound to dirty the Eagles clean sheet with a goal in the 83rd minute to make it a 2-1 game. 
Liberty made a number of late runs into the Eagle box, including one in the closing seconds after a free kick in the final minute, but FGCU held on by the skin of their teeth in regulation to come away with a 2-1 win. 

FGCU outshot Liberty 10-4 in the game, but the disparity was just 5-3 in shots on goal on the night. 

The Eagles improve to 14-0-1 all time in ASUN Tournament action while Liberty drops their first tournament game as an ASUN member and sees their season come to a close at 6-11-0, with FGCU the only team to beat them in the final three weeks of the year. 

The Green and Blue advance to the ASUN Semifinals on Sunday where they will take on the top seeded hosts, Lipscomb in a 2 PM EST kick off. 

In the other ASUN Quarterfinal on Friday, it was 6th seeded North Alabama shocking 3rd seeded Kennesaw State, also by a 2-1 score, to advance to take on NJIT on Sunday in the other semifinal contest. 

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 11 seasons. Blankenship started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to 11 double-digit win seasons, culminating with ASUN Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. 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. A year later, the Eagles became the first ASUN women's soccer program to make four-straight NCAA Tournaments with another tournament title in 2017. Blankenship has guided FGCU to a 156-54-23 (71.8 W%) overall record through the first 12 seasons of the program's existence, including a 76-14-14 (79.8 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 396-125-34 (74.4 W%) over 26 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.