LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The FGCU women's soccer team made it four straight wins on Sunday, defeating Bellarmine, 3-0. The Eagles improve to 7-5-0 and 5-1-0 in the ASUN while the Knights fall to 1-5-8 and 1-2-4 in league play.

"A great result for us today," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "Winning on the road is never easy, especially with what is still going on back home, but coming away with six points this week was huge. Our defense has really played well lately and Labbe had two high-quality goals today to continue her phenomenal season."

Sophomore Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS) found the back of the net twice to give her six goals on the season, tying her for the team lead with junior Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium). Junior Leah Scarpelli (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial HS/Penn State) also got her second goal of the season on a penalty kick while freshman Erika Zschuppe (Kirtland, Ohio/Kirtland HS) collected an assist, her third of the season.

Graduate student Katie Sullivan (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North HS/Creighton) made two saves to register her third shutout against an ASUN opponent this year and fourth overall.

Both teams took a shot in the first four minutes with Sullivan making one of her pair of saves on the day, but from then on, it was all Eagles as the Green & Blue took all 12 remaining shots in the first half.

Unable to connect in the first 30 minutes, the Eagles got their chance in the 33^rd minute as freshman Marla Gaudlitz (Werder, Germany/Sportschule Potsdam Friedrich Ludwig Jahn) was taken down in the box. Scarpelli stepped up to the spot and took a perfect penalty, squeezing the ball just inside the right post to just beat the keeper's diving save attempt.

The Eagles kept up the pressure and doubled their lead just a couple of minutes later. Zschuppe took a thrown in, tossing it towards Labbe, who let it roll a bit before firing a shot into the corner of the net from the edge of the 18-yard box.

In the second half, the Knights outshot the Eagles, 6-3, but the FGCU defense remained strong to keep the shutout intact. Labbe put the game on ice in the 81^st minute, taking the ball off a misplay from the Knights and lofting a shot from about 25 yards out near the left corner of the box and into the right side of the net, past the outstretched keeper.

Eagles on the Rise
Most Career Goals

1.	66	Tabby Tindell	2013-16
2	32	Louise Lillback	2019-present
3.	28	Shannen Wacker	2011-14
4.	25	Evdokia Popadinova	2018-19
5.	24	Amber McCall	2007-09

 
Most Career Points

1.	162	Tabby Tindell	2013-16
2.	83	Shannen Wacker	2011-14
3.	71	Louise Lillback	2019-present
4.	68	Lindsey Haw	2007-10
5.	67	Marjorie Boilesen	2017-19
6.	66	Paulina Speckmaier	2013-16
7.	59	Evdokia Popadinova	2018-19
8.	57	Amber McCall	2007-09
9.	53	Ally Kasun	2012-15
10.	44	Gina Petracco	2008-11

The Eagles will return home for two games this week, beginning with first-place Lipscomb on Thursday evening. The Bisons sit atop the table with Liberty at 19 points while the Eagles are in third with 15 points despite playing one less game than both the schools in front of them.
 
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 191-74-28 (.698) overall record through the first 16 seasons of the program's existence, including an 98-20-15 (.791) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 431-145-39 (.732) over 32 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 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative 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.