FORT MYERS, Fla. – Behind a pair of goals from junior Alyssa Abbondandolo (Cape Coral, Fla./Oasis HS), the second-seeded FGCU women's soccer team (7-2-2, 4-2-0 ASUN) earned a 2-1 victory over No. 3 Jacksonville (1-10-1, 1-4-1 ASUN) on Saturday afternoon at the FGCU Soccer Complex.

The Eagles will advance to next weekend's ASUN Semifinals at Kennesaw and are slated to take on the No. 2 Owls at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 15. The winner from that game will advance to the ASUN Championship and face off against either No. 1 UNF or No. 4 Liberty on Saturday, April 17 at 1 p.m.

"I'm happy with today's result," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "It's a playoff game but we have played Jacksonville twice already, so we had a pretty good idea of what to expect. I thought we did a great job at creating chances, but Jacksonville was also able to get a few good ones. Credit to them because they were clearly inspired. We talked about being smart and sharp and the team battled throughout the game. Alyssa had two great goals and it was wonderful to see her perform the way she did. We are happy to be moving on."

FGCU had control of the game immediately after kickoff, firing off two shots within the opening 10 minutes. Abbondandolo, who was celebrating her birthday, tallied the first on-frame attempt of the game when she tested Jacksonville's Courtney Green in the eighth minute, but the keeper came up with the stop.

The Eagles were unable to be shutout for long, however, as Abbondandolo scored on a penalty kick less than 10 minutes later. Her fourth goal of the season awarded the team an early 1-0 lead in the playoff outing.

The home team's backline prevented Jacksonville from getting a shot off until the 27th minute of action. Though freshman Mia Krusinski (Lewisville, Texas/Ursuline Academy of Dallas) made the stop, the Dolphins were able to earn a corner kick. The set piece allowed the team to knot up the score at 1-1 when freshman Gabby Holtrup knocked in a ball.

FGCU continued to fire off shots as the first half wound down, but was unable to break open the tie despite earning a 15-2 advantage in looks.

Jacksonville earned a slight edge in momentum at the start of the second period and tallied the first two shots following the break. The teams traded a few looks back-and-forth until FGCU regained control of the game and fired off four consecutive on-frame attempts.  

With just over 20 minutes remaining in the quarterfinal game, Abbondandolo got her head on a ball from senior Zoey Spitzer (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) and snapped the tie with her second goal. With the brace, she awarded the Eagles a 2-1 lead which they held on to for the win.

The Dolphins' pair of shots early in the second were two of three that the team was able to record in the latter half. Krusinski was not forced to face any additional attempts and finished her day with one stop. Spitzer's assist was her third of the season and she is now tied with both junior Kara Kyramarios (Titusville, Fla./Titusville HS) and freshman Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS) for the team lead.  

To view the updated bracket for the 2020-21 ASUN Women's Soccer Championship, click here. 

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 174-61-27 (.716) overall record through the first 13 seasons of the program's existence, including an 86-17-15 (.801) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 414-132-38 (.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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