KENNESAW, Ga. – The FGCU women's soccer team (7-3-2) fell to Kennesaw State (8-7-0) in the ASUN Semifinal, dropping a heartbreaking 0-1 result in double-overtime on Thursday evening at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

After 101 minutes of scoreless soccer, the Owls' Becky Contreras got her head on a corner kick and found the back of the net, ending the Eagles' run for their seventh ASUN Tournament crown.

"This is a hard one to swallow," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "And I have to tip my hat to Kennesaw. They kept the heat on during overtime and were able to get a result out of it. I thought we entered the game with great intensity and it was really exciting to see the sheer number of shots that were taken today. Both keepers made incredible saves throughout the night and did an outstanding job at keeping their teams in it. We have a really young program and I think that there is a lot of potential here. Obviously, this was not the result we wanted but I think that this group has bigger things ahead of it. It just hurts right now."

FGCU initially controlled the pace of the game, earning a 10-4 advantage in first-half shots. The Eagles fired off a pair of on-frame attempts in the opening six minutes as both junior Alyssa Abbondandolo (Cape Coral, Fla./Oasis HS) and senior Zoey Spitzer (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS) were able to get a solid look at the net, but Kennesaw's Dylan Pixton made a pair of stops to maintain the clean slate.

Freshman keeper Mia Krusinski (Lewisville, Texas/Ursuline Academy of Dallas) was tested just once in the opening 45 minutes and made a diving save to keep the Owls off the board.

Though the Eagles continued to apply pressure to Kennesaw's backline, they were unable to get past Pixton and the first half ended with the teams knotted up at 0-0.

FGCU was the first to get a look at the net after the break, but senior Syniah Clark's (Cape Coral, Fla./Ida Baker HS) attempt sailed wide. The Owls responded with back-to-back attempts against Krusinski, but the rookie made the stop on each.

Freshman Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS) had one of the Green & Blue's final looks of the second half when she tried to put a ball in the top right corner in the 79th minute, but Pixton was once again there to prevent the Eagles from taking the lead. Kennesaw made one final attempt with less than two minutes left in regulation, but Krusinski's fifth stop of the second half sent the game into overtime.

After 90 minutes of FGCU controlling the ball, the momentum began to shift in the first overtime period. The Owls racked up five shots compared to the Eagles' one in the first 10-minute block with both Krusinski and Clark, who blocked one, combining to keep the Owls from scoring. Sophomore Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) accounted for FGCU's only look in overtime, attempting to net the game-winner in the 99th minute but just missing the frame.

With the score still knotted up at 0-0, the game was sent into double overtime where the Owls went on to claim their victory. Following a pair of looks at the net, Contreras' goal finally awarded the team its 1-0 win and ended the Eagles' season. Kennesaw State will now advance to the ASUN Championship on Saturday, April 17 where the team will face off against Liberty.

Though the season is over, FGCU still has plenty to look forward to as the ASUN Women's Soccer coaches elected to push the postseason awards timeline back. In the coming weeks, the league will announce its All-ASUN Teams, All-Academic Team and the superlative awards.

"I feel for our whole team right now, but I especially feel for our seniors," Blankenship added. "They have done a tremendous job throughout their four years here and have contributed to our program's legacy and culture both on and off the field. Each of them will be sorely missed and we look forward to cheering them on through their future successes."

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 174-62-27 (.711) 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 414-133-38 (.740) over 26 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.

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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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