COLUMBUS, OH- Evdokia Popadinova scored early and Melissa Weck made six big saves to make the goal stand up as the FGCU Women's Soccer team went on the road Friday night to knock off Ohio State 1-0 in arguably the biggest win in program history.  The win marks the third in three chances for the Eagles against Power 5 schools in 2018 while pushing their overall record to 5-0-0, both program firsts. 

"I am just so impressed with all of our kids" Jim Blankenship said.  "At the half we went with a 'bend don't break' mentality, switching to more of a 4-5-1 and we did a great job of adjusting and sticking with the plan.  Weck and the back end were phenomenal as usual.  It was great to just continue building on what we have done so far.  We have continued to get better every week."

An early Ohio State foul inside of midfield gave the Eagles their first scoring chance of the game and they made the most of it. In the 12^th minute Holly Fritz (Cape Coral, FL/Mariner HS/Florida State) played a picturesque ball into the box from just inside midfield and found the head of red hot Evdokia Popadinova (Hadzhidimovo, Bulgaria/Nikola Vaptsarov/Northwestern Ohio) in traffic who flicked it to the bottom right corner of the net past the keeper for her fifth goal of the season to make it 1-0 FGCU. For Popadinova, it was her fifth straight game scoring a goal, making her the first Eagle player to do that since the legendary Tabby Tindell scored in 10 straight in 2016. 

The Buckeyes looked like they had the equalizer 20 minutes later when a corner kick turned into a shot flying towards the FGCU goal, but Melissa Weck (Yorba Linda, CA/Esperanza HS) made a diving stop to deny OSU and keep it a 1-0 game. 

FGCU had only one other good look at net in the final 15 minute of the half and weren't able to capitalize while the Eagles kept the Buckeyes at bay at the other end to hang onto their one goal lead into the half. 

The Eagles held the lead at the break despite being outshot 9-3 by the Buckeyes.  Of FGCU's three shots, only one found the net, Popadinova's goal, while four OSU attempts were thwarted by Weck. 

OSU put pressure on the Eagles right away as the second half got underway, but again Weck was up to the task, stopping two more shots in the first five minutes to keep it a 1-0 game.

FGCU got their second shot on goal in the 60^th minute as Fritz made a run at net, but the try was denied on a save by OSU goalkeeper Devon Kerr. 

The Buckeyes got three more shots off in the next five minutes, but the packed in FGCU defense blocked two and watched one sail wide to keep the shutout intact. 

The Eagles went into the defensive from there, methodically watching the clock tick down in their favor.   OSU dominated the possession, but had few solid looks against the stingy FGCU defense. 

Finally in the 80^th minute, the Buckeye faithful had something to get their hopes up about as they made a run deep into the attacking third, but again the FGCU defense held to keep the lead at 1-0. 

As they did against fellow Big 10 foe Michigan on Sunday at home in Fort Myers, the Eagles played keep away for the final 10 minutes, staving off any Buckeye attempt at a comeback and as the final horn sounded, FGCU left Columbus with a 1-0 victory.

All the final numbers besides the final score favored Ohio State as the Buckeyes outshot FGCU 16-6 including six shots on goal to just two for the Eagles. The Green and Blue also had to fight off 10 Buckeye corner kicks while being awarded just two themselves. 

Popadinova's goal was her fifth of the season, taking over the league lead at nights end.  Fritz's assist was her first of the year.  Weck notches career shutout number 22 for the Eagles.  The junior stopped all six shots she saw and has not allowed a goal in three straight halves. 

(RV) FGCU improves to 5-0-0 with the victory, marking the best start in program history, while (RV) Ohio State snaps a three game winning streak as they fall to 3-3-0 after knocking off both Florida and Notre Dame in the past two weeks. 

UP NEXT
The Eagles won't have long to celebrate their win over the Buckeyes as they will take to the pitch Sunday afternoon to take on a tough 4-2-0 Dayton team in a 1:00 start.   

POWER 5 SUCCESS
The Eagles continue to fly in rare air for mid major squads, now sporting a 9-8-1 record against Power 5 opponents since 2014. Of their eight losses, seven have come by a single goal.  The win over the Buckeyes gives FGCU their first road win over a Big 10 team in program history. 

POLLS
The Eagles received votes in the NCAA Top 25 poll for the first time since 2016 this week.  Friday's opponent Ohio State was also receiving votes and we ranked as high as 21^st by some publications last week.  Sunday's opponent, Dayton, was slotted 9^th in the tough East Region Poll by the United Soccer Coaches this week. 

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 148-51-21 (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 388-122-32 (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.