FORT MYERS, FLA.- FGCU coach Jim Blankenship couldn't have drawn things up much better Friday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex, as his Eagles opened the 2018 campaign with a bang. Getting goals from three different players, while outshooting the visiting Georgia Southern Eagles 22-1 on the night to come away with a 3-0 win.

"It was fantastic" head coach Jim Blankenship said. "We got off to a great start and playing at home in front of a great crowd you could see the energy and excitement in our kids."

It was all green and blue early and oftenas the Eagles had three shots and picked up three corners in the first 15 minutes of action to immediately put pressure on the visitors from Statesboro. Ironically FGCU's first goal of the year came on a play that didn't look like much was developing, as GSU attempted to push forward out of the defensive zone, a sloppy pass landed in the lap of  Marjorie Boilesen (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Porto Seguro/West Florida), who softly chipped the ball over the top of the keeper for a 1-0 FGCU lead.  

The Eagles continued to put the pressure on the Georgia Southern backline, as Holly Fritz (Cape Coral, Fla./Mariner HS/Florida State) and Hope Van Wagner (Avon, Ind./Avon HS) put together good chances before Silvana Gordon (Medford, N.J./Shawnee HS) checked in and immediately got a good look at goal but narrowly missed. FGCU had two additional chances to open up their lead late in the first half, but hit the crossbar both times.

Despite just a one goal separation, the halftime stats relayed FGCU's dominance as they outshot GSU 18-1  and held a 7-0 advantage in corners.  Six of the Eagle shots found their way on goal, including a pair from transfer junior Evdokia Popadinova (Hadzhidimovo, Bulgaria/Nikola Vaptsarov/Northwestern Ohio).

The barrage of shots continued for FGCU as the second half got underway with Van Wagner getting loose on a perfect cross into the box off the right foot of Megan Young (White Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Northern HS) and headed one just under the crossbar to put the Eagles up 2-0 just four minutes into the second. 

The Eagles didn't let off the gas as they once again pushed a ball into the box in the 61^st minute and Popadinova again found herself in the right place at the right time and unleashed a tracer to the corner of the net to put FGCU in front 3-0. 

The pressure slowed up ever so slightly as FGCU began to empty their bench late in the second half with 23 different Eagles seeing action (including 17 who played 20 minutes or more), but Georgia Southern was never able to mount a threat against the stout FGCU backline as Melissa Weck (Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza HS) and company polished off the final minutes of the clean sheet and the Eagles cruised into the locker room with a 3-0 win on opening night. 

The green and blue placed eight shots on net and earned all 11 corner kicks on the night.

DEJAVU?
Oddly enough, there were a number of similarities in Friday's victory and last year's season opening win at Georgia Southern.  Both contests finished in 3-0 FGCU win, with Boilesen and Van Wagner the first two players to score for the Eagles. FGCU also allowed just one shot on the night and none on goal, just as they did last year against the Eagles. 

UP NEXT
After capturing their opener for the second straight season, FGCU will now face one of their toughest tasks of the season, as they head to Orlando Sunday to take on the 16^th ranked UCF Knights in a 6 PM start from the UCF Soccer Complex. 

CHART CLIMBERS
Boilesen's goal was her 12^th in her FGCU career moving her into a tie for 8^th place with current Director of Operations Ali Rogers (2013-17) and Olivia Elias (2008-11) in the school's all-time record book. Boilesen's tally also goes down as the game winner which gives her five in her career, pushing her into a three way tie for 7^th on the all-time list.  With the shutout, Weck now has 20 for her career in 40 appearances, both of which rank 3rd, and her 90 minutes played take her over the 3,500 mark in her career, which also ranks 3rd all-time.   

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 144-51-21 (71.1 W%) overall record through the first 11 seasons of the program's existence, including a 71-11-14 (81.1 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 384-122-32 (74.2 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.