FORT MYERS, Fla. – After battling SEC foe Florida on Sunday, it gets tougher for the FGCU women's soccer team as the #1 Florida State Seminoles come to town for a contest at Pickering Field. Kickoff on Thursday evening is set for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on Facebook Live. The Eagles then head to Boca Raton to take on Florida Atlantic on Sunday at 4 p.m. with the match being streamed on CUSA.tv.
Against Florida on Sunday afternoon, the Eagles fought hard for 90 minutes, battling not just the Gators but also heavy rain, putting up a valiant effort, but ultimately fell, 1-0. The defeat capped off a 1-1 week for FGCU as the Eagles beat FIU, 3-2, on Wednesday.
Around the ASUN, seven teams collected wins on Sunday, led by Jacksonville and Lipscomb, who each picked up win number five on the season to lead the East and West Division, respectively.
Florida State enters the game undefeated at 5-0 and ranked #1 in the country. Its wins include four over power-five opponents, including #9 Texas A&M and Florida. The Seminoles have outscored their opposition, 16-3, so far this season.
This matchup will be just the second time that the two teams will face each other. The first time came back in 2008 when FSU defeated the Eagles, 4-0, in Tallahassee in only FGCU's second season. This will also be the first time the Eagles will face the #1 team in the country in program history.
FAU enters the contest with a 2-3-1 record and is coming off a 2-0 win over Troy. The Owls were picked to win the East Divsion in Conference USA before the season.
Like the Seminoles, this will be just the second time the Owls face off against FGCU. The first came last season, a scoreless draw in Fort Myers.
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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 176-65-27 (.707) overall record through the first 15 seasons of the program's existence, including an 86-17-15 (.801) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 416-136-38 (.737) over 31 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 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just ten seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 42 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, 2020 Fall, and 2021 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.
