TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -  A second-half outburst by #8 Florida State led the Seminoles to a 5-0 victory over the FGCU women's soccer team, Thursday night. The Eagles fall to 2-4-0 on the season while the defending national champions improve to 3-0-2.

"Despite the result, I thought we played well, especially in the first half," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "They are one of the best teams in the country and once they got on the board, it kind of got away from us, but there are definitely things we can use from this game to help us in the future."

The Eagles played one of their best halves of the season in the first 45 minutes as the game remained scoreless at the half. The Seminoles took 11 shots in the stanza, but only three reached the waiting hands of graduate student Katie Sullivan (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North HS/Creighton) who was able to limit second-chance opportunities.

On the back line, junior Leah Scarpelli (Brick, N.J./Brick Memorial HS/Penn State) was busy, blocking three shots from reaching their target. Graduate student Margaret Berry (Holly, Mich./Fenton HS/Boston University) also had a key defensive play to keep FSU off the board.

The Eagles had their best chance of the game in the 24^th minute when sophomore Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS) took a shot from close range. After FSU keeper Cristina Roque got her hand on the ball, it hit solid off the crossbar as the Eagles were just inches away from taking the lead.

In the second half, the Noles came out attacking and took the lead in the 48^th minute and from there, the tide changed as Florida State added goals in the 56^th, 59^th, 82^nd, and 90^th minutes, including a few that were world-class, to turn the contest from a fight into a comfortable FSU win.

Overall, Florida State outshot the Eagles, 28-6, with Sullivan making a season-high seven saves. The Seminoles also had an 8-4 edge in corner kicks.

The Eagles will return to action on Sunday when they come back to Fort Myers to take on FIU. Kickoff against the Panthers is set for 1 p.m.

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.

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!

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 185-72-27 (.699) overall record through the first 15 seasons of the program's existence, including an 93-19-15 (.791) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 425-143-38 (.733) 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.