KENNESAW, GA- The FGCU Women's Soccer (9-3-2, 3-3-0) team suffered another gut-wrenching loss Sunday afternoon, dropping a 1-0 decision to Kennesaw State (12-3-1, 5-1-0) despite outshooting the Owls 16-7 in the contest.
"It was a tough loss" head coach
Jim Blankenship said. "The bounces didn't go our way today, but I thought we played really well in the second half. Credit to Kennesaw State as they were able to withstand a good amount of pressure in the second half and hang on."
Play was even early on in the highly anticipated matchup as FGCU fired three shots in the first six minutes and Kennesaw answered with the next three shots as the teams remained scoreless through the first 20 minutes.
The Owls were the first to strike, as a long pass to the back post was headed into the net to break the scoreless tie and put Kennesaw up 1-0 in the 23rd minute.
The Eagles put shots on net in the 38th and 39th minutes, but could get neither past the keeper as they continued to chase the one goal deficit into the half.
FGCU outshot Kennesaw 7-6 in the first half, but managed to get just three of those on net to five for the Owls.
The Eagles came out ready to go in the second half, getting two quick shots in the first five minutes off the foot of
Alyssa Abbondandolo (Cape Coral, FL/Oasis HS) and then another from the freshman moments later to put the Owls on their heels.
FGCU continued to pour shots at the Kennesaw net, getting five more before the midway point of the second half, but couldn't dial them in on target, as each of the shots were off the mark as it remained a 1-0 game in favor of the Owls.
It looked like the Eagles tied the game up in the 73rd minute as
Marjorie Boilesen (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Porto Seguro/West Florida) beat the keeper with a low shot, but it missed the net by mere inches, going over the goal line for a goal kick to the dismay of the FGCU faithful.
The Kennesaw defense locked down from there, holding the Eagles without a shot for the final 18 minutes of the game, holding onto and finishing off a 1-0 victory to take sole possession of first place in the ASUN with 15 points.
FGCU loses despite a 9-1 advantage in shots in the second half and a 16-7 overall shot advantage in the contest. However, only three of the Eagles shots found their way on net while five of the seven did for the Owls.
Boilesen finished with a team best five shots, two on goal in the game, while Abbondandolo had tree, all early in the second half.
The Eagles drop their third straight to fall to 9-3-2 overall and 3-3-0 in ASUN action. Kennesaw improves to 12-3-1 overall and is the lead horse down the stretch at 5-1-0 in conference play.
FGCU returns to the friendly confines of The Nest on Thursday as they host Liberty in a 7 PM kick on the Eagles Pinkout night to support breast cancer awareness.
ASUN RESULTS SUNDAY
Kennesaw St. 1 FGCU 0
Stetson 4 NJIT 2
Liberty 2 Lipscomb 1
UPDATED ASUN STANDINGS
| School |
Pts |
ASUN |
Overall |
| 1. Kennesaw St. |
15 |
5-1-0 |
12-3-0 |
| 2. NJIT |
12 |
4-2-0 |
10-4-1 |
| 3. Lipscomb |
9 |
3-1-0 |
8-4-2 |
| 4. FGCU |
9 |
3-3-0 |
9-3-2 |
| 5. North Alabama |
6 |
2-2-0 |
8-6-0 |
| Liberty |
6 |
2-2-0 |
3-9-0 |
| 7. North Florida |
4 |
1-3-1 |
6-6-1 |
| Stetson |
4 |
1-4-1 |
4-8-3 |
| 9. Jacksonville |
3 |
1-4-0 |
1-11-1 |
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 152-54-23 (72.0 W%) overall record through the first 12 seasons of the program's existence, including a 74-14-14 (81.0 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 392-125-34 (74.5 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.
