TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The FGCU women's soccer team played an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 2017, Friday night against #1 Florida State. The Eagles put up a valiant effort, but ultimately fell 3-0 to the defending national champions.

The game was similar to the matchup in the regular season between the two schools as the contest was scoreless through the first 45 minutes before a couple of early goals in the second half allowed the Seminoles to take control of the match.

"I'm incredibly proud of our team," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "We took the chance to play the best team in the country as a great opportunity and a challenge and I thought our team handled it really well, but they are a phenomenal team."

Goalkeeper Katie Sullivan (Wheaton, Ill.) did all she could to keep the Seminoles out of the net, making a season-high nine saves, but ultimately, a few of FSU's 26 shots found their way into the goal.

In the first half, Florida State outshot the Eagles, 11-3, but could not capitalize. Sullivan made a couple of diving saves while Grace Paradis (Kingston, N.H.) also made two defensive saves right on the goal line off of a couple of Seminole corner kicks. FSU also hit the post once in the first half.

The best Eagle chance of the half came in the 25th minute when Marla Gaudlitz (Werder, Germany) had the ball land at her feet in the box, but her shot went just wide.

Erika Zschuppe (Kirtland, Ohio) also had a chance in the 38th minute, making a nice move around her defender, but her shot was blocked before it could reach the goal. Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden) had the last chance for the Green and Blue in the first half, but her shot in the final seconds went straight into the keeper's hands.

In the second half, Florida State jumped out ahead in the 52nd minute before adding a second goal 10 minutes later on an unfortunate deflection by the FGCU defense. The Seminoles then added a third goal in the 76th minute off a corner kick.

Overall, Florida State outshot the Eagles 26-4 and had a 10-0 edge in corner kicks. The Seminoles now advance to the second round where they will host LSU, who defeated Lamar in the first round.

The Eagles finish the season at 12-6-2 overall and will look to build on this year's success, which included the program's seventh ASUN Tournament Championship, in 2023.
 
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 16 seasons. Blankenship started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to double-digit win seasons every year except the COVID-shortened 2020 season, 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 196-75-30 (.701) overall record through the first 16 seasons of the program's existence, including an 101-20-16 (.799) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 436-146-41 (.733) 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 93 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.