CHICAGO, IL- Melissa Weck made eight big saves and Holly Fritz scored a huge second half equalizer as #16 FGCU (6-0-2) earned their eighth straight result in a 1-1 tie against Loyola (3-5-1) Sunday afternoon.

"We didn't get off to a great start" head coach Jim Blankenship said.  "But, we showed some grit and some toughness after they scored and I was very proud of how we fought back from that point. Weck kept us in it and let us get settled in. It was a good result, it's not easy to win on the road against a quality opponent.  Now we get ready for conference, they count now."

It was the Ramblers that dictated the pace early on as the home team had two quick chances right off the bat that the FGCU defense had to fight off. 

Loyola continued to hold the ball on their offensive side of the field, but the Eagle defense held strong to keep it a scoreless game to the midway point of the half. 

In the 24th minute, Loyola had their best chance of the half, but hit the post on a free kick to keep the game scoreless. 

Weck (Yorba Linda, CA/Esperanza HS) kept the Ramblers off the board later on, making her third stop of the half in the 37th minute to send the game to the half scoreless.
 
On the stat sheet, it was all Loyola in the first half. The Ramblers led shots 14-3 and shots on goal 2-0 while earning 4 corners to FGCU's 1. 

Weck continued to hold strong as the second half kicked off, making two more stops early in the half to keep it a 0-0 game. 

Another Eagle stepped up on the defensive end in the 61st minute as Opal Curless (Mount Desert, Maine/Mount Desert Island HS/Syracuse) cleared away a ball sitting on the Ramblers doorstep to keep it a scoreless contest. 

However, on the ensuing corner, the Ramblers connected, getting a header into the back of the net to break the goalless drought and put Loyola up 1-0. 

Apparently the goal woke the Eagles up as just four minutes later, they managed their first shot on goal and it resulted in a goal as Marjorie Boilesen (Sao Paulo, Brazil, Porto Seguro/West Florida) and Evdokia Popadinova (Hadzhidimovo, Bulgaria/Nikola Vaptsarov/Northwestern Ohio) found Fritz (Cape Coral, FL/Mariner HS/Florida State) inside the box and the Eagle captain buried it into the bottom 90 for the equalizer to tie the game at 1. 

In the 81st minute FGCU looked like they had the go ahead tally as they beat the Loyola keeper, but the play was called offsides to keep it a 1-1 game.

In the final five minutes of regulation, it was all Weck for FGCU as the preseason ASUN Goalkeeper of the Year earned showed just how worthy she was of that title, making not one, but two, one on one stops to keep the game alive and send it to overtime.

The first overtime was played mostly at midfield, with Loyola getting the only shot off, which was well wide, to send the game to the second OT. 

In double overtime FGCU had a pair of chances, but again, couldn't put either shot on net and for the second week in a row, the Eagles were forced to settle for a tie, this time 1-1. 

FGCU was outshot 29-10 in the contest while Loyola posted nine shots on goal to the Eagles three.  The Ramblers took nine corners while the Green and Blue had just two. 

Fritz's goal was her fifth of the season while Popadinova's assist was her fifth and Boilesen's was her fourth.  The points now give all three players double digit points in 2018. 

Weck was huge in net, making eight saves, the third most of her career and most this season. 

The Eagles finish non-conference play 6-0-2 and will begin their ASUN slate on Friday when they travel to Jacksonville to take on Jacksonville Friday and North Florida Sunday.  The Dolphins are winless this season at 0-7-1 while the Osprey's sit at 5-3-0 after this weekend's action. 

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 149-51-23 (72.0 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 389-122-34 (74.5 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.