FORT MYERS, Fla. – Thanks to an early first half goal and two second half strikes combined with aggressive defense, the FGCU women's soccer team shutout FIU, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Soccer Complex. The shutout marked the third of the season for the Eagles who remain undefeated on the season at 2-0-2, while the Panthers fell to 2-3-0 overall.
 
Overall, FGCU outshot the Panthers 18-to-5 for the match including 11-to-3 in the second half. The Eagles also held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.

"I'm really happy with today's game," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "It was the result that we wanted. I felt we came in with a good game plan and we scored more goals than we have in a while, which was exciting to see. Scoring early definitely took a bit of the pressure off, but I liked our mentality and aggressiveness afterwards."
 
The match opened up with a goal in the third minute by freshman Malaya Melancon (Naples, Fla./First Baptist Academy) when she intercepted a tap-back pass down the far flank by the FIU defense. With keeper Christina Velazquez having left her line to come out to meet the pass, Melancon was able to collect the ball and then chip a shot over Velazquez to put the Eagles up 1-0 early.
 
That lead held throughout the first half as FIU was largely unable to pressure the Eagles' defense with just two shots. FGCU freshman keeper Mia Krusinski (Lewisville, Texas/Ursuline Academy of Dallas) made her only save of the match on one of those shots, while the other was off target.
 
In the second half, the Eagles notched their second goal in the 65^th minute after FGCU again intercepted a clearing attempt at midfield. Junior Kara Kyramarios (Titusville, Fla./Titusville HS) played a ball ahead to sophomore Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) at the top of the 18-yard box. Lillback collected the pass heading towards the far flank before cutting back to the inside to evade the defense. She then drove in towards goal before firing off a left-footed shot that got past a diving Velazquez and tucked inside the far post.
 
Nearly eight minutes later in the 73^rd minute, junior Alyssa Abbondandolo (Cape Coral, Fla./Oasis HS) tacked on the third goal of the day on a nifty right-footed chip shot. Freshman Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS) carried the ball up the near sideline before sending a long leading pass ahead for Lillback. The pass pinballed through traffic as Abbondandolo was able to collect at the top of the 18-yard box. She then got a glancing, off-angle shot off from 8-yards out that went off the top of Velazquez finger tips for the score.
 
The Eagles had five more shot attempts in the balance of the match with Velazquez save two and the others going off target. Each team earned a pair of corner kicks in the stretch as well, but none turned into scoring chances.
 
The Eagles will return to the FGCU Soccer Complex next Saturday, Feb. 27 to host North Florida in their ASUN opener. Kickoff is set for 4 PM with the game being a Pink Out.
 
For complete coverage of FGCU women's soccer, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_WSoccer and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU women's soccer or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.

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, 2015 and 2019, has built FGCU women's soccer into a yearly contender in the ASUN Conference and a rising program in the South Region in just 13 seasons. Blankenship started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to 13 double-digit win seasons, culminating with ASUN Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019. In 2011 and 2012 he also led the Eagles to back-to-back ASUN Tournament titles as they 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 168-59-27 (.716) overall record through the first 13 seasons of the program's existence, including an 82-15-15 (.801) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 409-130-38 (.743) over 26 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.

E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
 
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April 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.
 
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 83 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 13 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just nine seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 38 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Seven FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport – including women's basketball (No. 24, 2019-20) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate (APR) in their sport and have had the highest percentage of teams so honored from these two groups over each of the past three years. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.46 GPA in the classroom in the spring 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 22 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall and 2020 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 – being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
 
--FGCUATHLETICS.COM--