COLUMBUS, OH- The FGCU Women's Soccer team will put their unblemished 4-0-0 record on the line this weekend in Ohio as they battle Ohio State Friday night at 5 PM in Columbus and Dayton Sunday afternoon at 1 PM on the Flyers home turf. 

The Eagles, who earned three votes in this week's NCAA Top 25 poll, will face their toughest back to back tests of the regular season this weekend when they visit the Buckeyes who are also receiving votes in the poll and Dayton, who find themselves ranked 9^th in the United Soccer Coaches East Region poll. 

LAST TIME OUT- The Eagles earned their second signature win of the season on Sunday, when they scored three first half goals and hung on late to take down Michigan 3-2 at the FGCU Soccer Complex. 

It was an action packed first half as Michigan jumped out to an early lead before Holly Fritz (Cape Coral, FL/Mariner HS/Florida State) scored on a beautiful ball into the box from Marjorie Boilesen (Sao Paulo, Brazil/Porto Seguro/West Florida) to even the score up at one.  Later in the half, Evdokia Popadinova (Hadzhidimovo, Bulgaria/Nikola Vaptsarov/Northwestern Ohio) buried a free kick in the back of the net to give the Green and Blue a 2-1 lead, but the Wolverines quickly answered with their second tally to tie the score at two.  With just three minutes remaining in the half, FGCU drew a foul in the box, resulting in a penalty kick that Fritz cashed in on to send the game to the break with the Eagles leading 3-2. 

Despite chances for both teams in the second half, the goalkeepers stood tall and in the end, the Eagles held on for the 3-2 win, their second in two tries over a Power 5 school in 2018. 

POLLS- The win over Michigan finally garnered the Eagles some respect in the NCAA polls released Tuesday as FGCU picked up three votes towards the Top 25, the first time they have done that since the 2016 preseason poll.  In the United Soccer Coaches South Region poll, the Eagles also continue to climb, moving up two spots for the second straight week to #4 where they now trail just USF, SMU, and North Texas. 

HOT START- The Eagles are one of just 12 teams at the NCAA Division I level who have won each of their games so far this season.  At 4-0-0, FGCU matches its best start in program history, held previously by the inaugural 2007 squad. 

POWER 5 SUCCESS- With their victory over the Maize and Blue, FGCU evens their record since 2014 against Power 5 opponents.  The Eagles are now 8-8-1 in those matchups, with seven of the eight losses coming by a single goal.  The Green and Blue have defeated a Power 5 in six straight seasons and have now defeated two of those teams in 2018 and 2014. 

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK- Three Eagles have been honored so far this year with weekly awards.  Fritz was the latest as she was named the ASUN Player of the Week for week three after three goals in two games last weekend.   Goalkeeper Melissa Weck (Yorba Linda, CA/Esperanza HS) was named the ASUN Defensive Player of the Week for week two and Boilesen was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week for week two as well.

EAGLES LEADING THE WAY- Despite having played less games (4) than any other team in the ASUN, Holly Fritz and Evdokia Popadinova currently share the league lead with three other players in goals with four each thus far.  With 11 of her 13 shots finding their way on net this season, Popadinova's .846 shots on percentage is best of any player in the ASUN with at least six shots.  With two game winning goals each, Fritz and Boilesen currently sit tied atop the ASUN chart with two other players in that category. As a team, FGCU's 3.25 goals per game are tops in the ASUN. 

CHART CLIMBERS

POINTS PER GAME	ASSISTS PER GAME
1. Tabby Tindell- 2.03 (13-16)	1. Marjorie Boilesen- 0.48 (17-18)
2. Marjorie Boilesen- 1.61 (17-18)	2. Holly Fritz- 0.43 (17-18)
3. Holly Fritz- 1.22 (17-18)	3. Tabby Tindell- 0.38 (13-16)
4. Amber McCall- 1.06 (07-09)	4. Ashley Ciesielczyk- 0.37 (08-12)
5. Shannen Wacker- 1.00 (11-14)	5. Kelly Sherriff- 0.33 (07)
GOALS PER GAME	SHOTS PER GAME
1. Tabby Tindell- 0.82 (13-16)	1. Tabby Tindell- 3.76 (13-16)
2. Marjorie Boilesen- 0.57 (17-18)	2. Paulina Speckmaier- 3.33 (13-16)
3. Amber McCall- 0.44 (07-09)	3. Holly Fritz- 2.57 (17-18)
4. Varin Ness- 0.42 (17)	4. Amber McCall- 2.37 (07-09)
5. Holly Fritz- 0.39 (17-18)	5. Olivia Elias- 2.20 (08-11)
SAVES	SAVE PERCENTAGE
1. Brittany Brown- 274 (12-15)	1. Stephanie Powers- .834 (08-11)
2. Stephanie Powers- 261 (08-11)	2. Brittany Brown- .830 (12-15)
3. Melissa Weck- 146 (16-18)	3. Melissa Weck- .807 (16-18)
4. Kirsi Kennan- 55 (07-10)	4. Kirsi Keenan- .775 (07-10)
5. Emily Barrett- 14 (07-09)	5. Emily Barrett- .737 (07-09)
GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE	WINS
1. Brittany Brown- 0.67 (12-15)	1. Brittany Brown- 57 (12-15)
2. Stephanie Powers- 0.73 (08-11)	2. Stephanie Powers- 42 (08-11)
3. Melissa Weck- 0.82 (16-18)	3. Melissa Weck- 32 (16-18)
4. Emily Barrett- 0.84 (07-09)	4. Kirsi Keenan- 10 (07-10)
5. Kirsi Keenan- 0.90 (07-10)	5. Emily Barrett- 5 (07-09)
SHUTOUTS
1. Brittany Brown- 37.1 (12-15)
2. Stephanie Powers- 31 (08-11)
3. Melissa Weck- 21.2 (16-18)
4. Kirsi Keenan- 8 (07-10)
5. Emily Barrett- 3 (07-09)

ASUN

Team	Record	Last Week/This Week
Kennesaw State	5-1-0	W- Furman (1-0), W- Morehead St. (2-0)
		vs. Georgia Southern (Fri), vs. Georgia (Sun)
North Alabama	5-1-0	W- Jacksonville St. (1-0), L- Vanderbilt (4-0)
		vs. Abilene Christian (Fri), vs. UAB (Sun)
NJIT	4-1-1	W-UMass-Lowell (1-0), W- Rider (2-0)
		@ Stony Brook (Thur), @ Quinnipiac (Sun)
Lipscomb	3-1-2	T- Western Kentucky (1-1), W- Chattanooga (3-0)
		@ Northern Kentucky (Thur), vs. Miami Ohio (Sun)
Stetson	3-2-1	W- Ga. Southern (1-0, 2OT), T- Detroit Mercy (0-0, 2OT)
		@ LSU (Thur), vs. Miami (Sun)
North Florida	2-3-0	W- Winthrop (3-0)
		@ Appalachian St. (Thur), @ South Carolina State (Sat)
Liberty	1-4-0	L- William & Mary (2-1)
		@ Virginia (Thur), @ Clemson (Sun)
Jacksonville	0-6-0	L- Manhattan (2-1), L- Winthrop (2-1)
		vs. Miami (Thur), @ Charleston Southern (Sun)

THE OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
The Buckeyes have played arguably the toughest early season schedule of any team in the country thus far, entering play this weekend with a 3-2-0 record.  In four of their five games, they have faced an opponent that was either ranked in the top 25 or has been ranked in the top 25 this season including North Carolina (6), Duke (3), Florida (5), and Notre Dame (25).  After suffering 2-0 defeats to the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils, they have bounced back with three straight wins including 1-0 victories on the road over Florida and Notre Dame. 

Ohio State goalkeeper Devon Kerr has been on fire of late, posting three straight shutouts for the Buckeyes.  Emaly Vatne has been OSU's top offensive threat thus far, scoring three times and adding an assist for a team leading seven points. 

Including their trip last season, Ohio State has played in the NCAA Tournament in 9 of the past 11 years.

FGCU and Ohio State have met just once, with the Buckeyes winning a 1-0 double overtime game in Fort Myers in 2016. 
 
THE DAYTON FLYERS
Dayton sits at 3-2-0 going into the weekend with a matchup with Akron looming Friday.  The Flyers have been tough on the defensive end thus far, allowing just a single goal in all five of their matchups. 

Some early season oddities have already occurred in the results for the Flyers so far.  First off, Dayton has put together a 3-0 record away from Baujan Field, but is 0-2 on their home turf this season.  Secondly, both of the Flyers losses have come in tight 1-0 ballgames, with each opponent tally coming off of a Dayton own goal. 

The Flyers have had six different players score their seven goals on the season.  Micayla Livingston has been the only multi-goal scorer with two, both coming in the Eastern Michigan game.  Goalkeeper Kaelyn Johns has been in net all 455+ minutes this season for Dayton, turning aside 22 of 27 opponent shots on goal.

The meeting will be the first between the two in history.  

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 147-51-21 (71.9 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 387-122-32 (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.