FORT MYERS, Fla. – Three second-half goals propelled the FGCU women's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over Jacksonville, Sunday afternoon at Pickering Field. The Eagles improve to 5-5-0 on the season and 3-1 in the ASUN while the Dolphins fall to 4-2-2 and 1-2-0 in league play.

"I'm very pleased. I thought the ladies really played well," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "They dictated the tempo and created a number of great opportunities. I liked our mentality and the way the team went after it today. We're playing well right now and we are getting better and better each week."

Graduate student Margaret Berry (Holly, Mich./Fenton HS/Boston University), sophomore Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS), and redshirt-freshman Lindsey Saad (Albuquerque, N.M./Brighton HS/Washington State) all found the back of the net for the Eagles. Labbe also added an assist while junior Leah Scarpelli (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial HS/Penn State) collected two.

The Eagles dominated the game as they outshot the Dolphins, 33-3, and had 14 shots on goal compared to Jacksonville's two. FGCU also had 13 corner kicks while not conceding any.

The Eagles had a boatload of chances in the first half as they took 16 shots, including one off the post by freshman Erika Zschuppe (Kirtland, Ohio/Kirtland HS), but could not find the back of the net. JU had its two best chances in the first half as well, but graduate student Katie Sullivan (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North HS/Creighton) was up for the task, making two saves.

The second half was all Eagles, taking 17 shots while the Dolphins only had one in the final 45 minutes.

Berry opened the scoring in the 61^st minute with a header off a corner from Labbe, leaping high in the air to knock the ball over the keeper's hands.

After junior Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) hit the post in the 80^th minute, Labbe made sure she found the back of the net in the 83^rd minute with a shot from outside the 18-yard box off a couple of assists from Scarpelli and freshman Marla Gaudlitz (Werder, Germany/Sportschule Potsdam Friedrich Ludwig Jahn).

A couple of minutes later, Saad put the game on ice as she took a pass from sophomore Katelyn Kauffman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Norwin HS/Pitt) in the box and fired a shot that deflected off the defender and past the keeper for her second goal of the season.

The Eagles will now hit the road for three straight games beginning with Stetson on Saturday at 6 p.m. The Green and Blue will return to Pickering Field on October 13^th when they take on defending ASUN champion Lipscomb.

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 189-74-27 (.698) overall record through the first 15+ seasons of the program's existence, including an 96-20-15 (.790) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 429-145-38 (.732) 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 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.