FORT MYERS, Fla. – The FGCU women's soccer team (5-2-2, 3-2-0 ASUN) picked up a 2-1 win over Jacksonville (1-8-1, 1-3-1 ASUN) on Sunday afternoon at the FGCU Soccer Complex. After senior Zoey Spitzer (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) netted the first goal of the day in the 14th minute, the Eagles never trailed as they held on for their third conference victory of the 2021 season.

Prior to the start of the match, head coach Jim Blankenship and his staff honored seniors Cassidy Morgan (Weston, Fla./Cypress Bay HS) , Kavina Ganeshan (Pickering, Ontario/Pickering HS) and Natalie Schaps (Guatemala City, Guatemala/American School of Guatemala) for their contributions to the program. Since arriving on campus in 2017, the trio has helped FGCU win a pair of ASUN regular season titles, an ASUN Tournament Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

"Most importantly, we got the result," Blankenship said. "I thought our team played really well, but I felt there were moments where Jacksonville had control. Obviously, 2-0 is a dangerous score and they were able to press us and score. But overall I thought it was a good game. We're celebrating three players that had huge impacts on our program. For them to walk away with a win is important because they've always represented us so well."

The momentum favored the Eagles immediately out of the gate, as sophomore Leah Scarpelli (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial/Penn State) fired off a shot within the opening two minutes. Though her attempt was denied, FGCU was able to get on the board about 10 minutes later when Spitzer scored her first goal of the season. Labbe picked up an assist on the shot, helping the Green & Blue jump out to an early 1-0 lead.

FGCU controlled the ball for the majority of the first 45 minutes, outshooting the visiting Dolphins 15-1. Four of the Eagles' first-half attempts were on-frame, three of which were tallied by Scarpelli with graduate student Meagan Gruber (Long Beach, Calif./Woodrow Wilson/Jacksonville) also contributing. Spitzer's goal was the difference-maker in the first half, as the team took its 1-0 edge into the break.

Less than 10 minutes after the start of the second period, Spitzer repaid the favor to Labbe and assisted on the rookie's first career goal. Labbe's shot, which was also assisted by Scarpelli, extended the Eagles' lead to a 2-0 margin.

Freshman Mia Krusinski (Lewisville, Texas/Ursuline Academy of Dallas), who earned the start between the pipes, had a quiet second half after facing just one shot in the first. With the Eagles up 2-0, senior Natalie Schaps (Guatemala City, Guatemala/American School of Guatemala) subbed into the game for the rookie keeper in the 81st minute, marking the first appearance of her career. Though the Dolphins were able to take advantage of the substitution and scored a goal that cut the home team's lead in half, Schaps was able to hold on for the win.

The Green & Blue continued to get looks at the net after Labbe's goal and ultimately came away from the second half with an additional 16 shots (six on-frame). Eight different Eagles tested Jacksonville's keeper throughout the 90 minutes, with Scarpelli's three looks leading the charge.

FGCU will now prepare to close out the regular season next weekend while on the road at Stetson. The Eagles are scheduled to face off against the Hatters for the second time this season on Friday, April 2 in DeLand (7 p.m.). With today's win, FGCU has locked up the second seed in the ASUN South Division and will host a divisional semifinal on April 10. The Eagles will face off against the No. 3 seed, while top-seed UNF will play host to No. 4.

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.

 ASUN Roundup
South Division Standings

School	ASUN	Points	Overall
UNF	4-0-0	12	7-1-0
FGCU	3-2-0	9	5-2-2
Jacksonville	1-3-1	4	1-8-1
Stetson	0-3-1	1	1-4-1

North Division Standings

School	ASUN	Points	Overall
Lipscomb	5-0-1	16	6-2-1
Kennesaw State	4-3-0	12	5-7-0
Liberty	2-3-3	9	3-4-5
Bellarmine	2-3-2	8	2-5-2
North Alabama	0-4-2	2	1-6-2

Recent Results
Sunday, March 28
Liberty 2, Bellarmine 2 (2OT)
Lipscomb 2, Kennesaw State 1
FGCU 2, Jacksonville 1

Upcoming Games
Sunday, March 28
Stetson at UNF – 6 p.m.

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 172-61-27 (.716) overall record through the first 13 seasons of the program's existence, including an 85-17-15 (.801) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 412-132-38 (.743) over 26 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.

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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 85 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 40 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) 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 in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, and 2020 Fall 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.


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