FORT MYERS, FL- Two late second half goals from Evdokia Popadinova just six minutes apart were enough for the #23 FGCU Eagles (9-0-2, 3-0-0) to get by the North Alabama Lions (7-5-0, 1-1-0) by a 2-0 count Friday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex, setting up a showdown Sunday afternoon in Fort Myers when the Eagles host the rival Lipscomb Bisons at 1 PM. 

"We got the points we needed" head coach Jim Blankenship said.  "We were a little bit impatient, but our attacking mentality was better in the second half and it earned us more chances with shots and corners.  The first goal helped the momentum build and then we score another one right away."

Despite the fact that the top two scoring teams in the ASUN were going head to head Friday night, scoring chances were tough for the two sides to come up with in the first half.  North Alabama got a couple of shots on net early, but both were easy stops for Eagle keeper Melissa Weck (Yorba Linda, CA/Esperanza HS) to keep the game even through the first 10 minutes of action. 

Hope Van Wagner (Avon, IN/Avon HS) put the Eagles first shot on net in the 15th minute and Silvana Gordon (Medford, NJ/Shawnee HS) got another in the 23rd minute, but it wasn't until nearly 15 minutes later that FGCU got another good look at goal. 

With under six minutes remaining in the half, Marjorie Boilesen (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Porto Seguro/West Florida) chipped a shot past the goalie from the left side of the box and it looked like the Green and Blue were going to go ahead, but the ball slid just to the right of the far post and out of bounds harmlessly to keep it a scoreless contest at the half. 

Shots were 7-6 in favor of the Eagles at the break, but the Lions had four shots on to FGCU's three. 

Again UNA made a push early in the half as the second began, but again Weck was up to the task, stopping an early chance to keep the Lions off the board. 

FGCU tried to recreate some of their magic from the opening weekend of ASUN play as Lindsey Patton (Jacksonville, FL/Oakleaf HS) put her head on a corner kick from Holly Fritz (Cape Coral, FL/Mariner HS/Florida State), but was unable to find the net to keep it a 0-0 game. 

The Green and Blue finally broke through in the 72nd minute when another Fritz corner was perfectly lofted into the box to Boilesen, who then made the short pass to the near post to Popadinova (Hadzhidimovo, Bulgaria, Nikola Vaptsarov/Northwestern Ohio) who buried it for her ninth of the year to give FGCU a 1-0 lead. 

The goal allowed the Eagles to exhale and they had two more chances right away before a UNA foul deep in the FGCU attacking third led to a free kick for Boilesen who found Popadinova in traffic in the box for a bouncing header that trickled in for her second goal in just six minutes to make it a 2-0 game. 

The Eagles put it in cruise control from there and the Lions never threatened again as Weck posted yet another clean sheet and FGCU remained unbeaten with a 2-0 victory.

FGCU dominated the second half, finishing with a 9-3 shot advantage and a 6-1 corner advantage in the final 45 minutes.
 
Popadinova scored twice to become one of just six players nationally with 10 or more goals on the year.  Boilesen, the NCAA's active assist leader added to her total with two helpers to give her a team best seven on the year while Fritz notched her 14th point with an assist of her own.  Weck made six saves in her seventh shutout of the year, moving her into a 5th place tie on the active NCAA list with her 25th career clean sheet. 

FGCU continues their best start in history at 9-0-2 and stays perfect in ASUN action at 3-0-0 to remain atop the league standings.  UNA falls to 7-5-0 overall and 1-1-0 in ASUN action. 

The Eagles won't have much time to celebrate the win as they gear up for rival Lipscomb on Sunday in a rematch of each of the past three ASUN Championship games at 1 PM at the FGCU Soccer Complex. 

ASUN RESULTS FRIDAY
Kennesaw State 2 Jacksonville 0
#23 FGCU 2 North Alabama 0
NJIT 1 North Florida 0
Lipscomb 2 Stetson 0
 
UPDATED ASUN STANDINGS

School	Pts	ASUN	Overall
1. FGCU	9	3-0-0	9-0-2
2. Lipscomb	6	2-0-0	7-3-2
Kennesaw St.	6	2-1-0	9-3-0
NJIT	6	2-1-0	8-3-1
5. North Alabama	3	1-1-0	7-5-0
Jacksonville	3	1-2-0	1-9-1
7. Stetson	1	0-2-1	3-6-3
North Florida	1	0-2-1	5-5-1
9. Liberty	0	0-2-0	1-9-0

 
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 152-51-23 (72.2 W%) overall record through the first 12 seasons of the program's existence, including a 74-11-14 (81.7 W%) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 392-122-34 (74.6 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.