FORT MYERS, Fla. – Second place FGCU hosts first place Central Arkansas on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Pickering Field for a premiere battle atop the Atlantic Sun Conference's regular season standings.
Sunday's match is also Youth Day at Pickering Field. Kids 12 & under receive $5 admission with a paying adult (walk-up sales only). For tickets, purchase online HERE or at the gate. Single-game tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for military and youth (ages 4-12). For groups of 10 or more, tickets start at $6. FGCU students, faculty and staff are free with a valid Eagle I.D.
FGCU (7-1-1, 22 points) must win or tie against Central Arkansas (7-0-2, 23 points) for a chance at the regular season title. A loss provides a four-point spread that the Eagles can't make up in just a single game that remains. If FGCU defeats Central Arkansas and then either beats or ties Stetson next week, FGCU will be the regular season champ. IF FGCU defeats UCA and then loses to Stetson, UCA can jump ahead of the Eagles with a victory in their regular-season finale.
If FGCU ties UCA and the Bears win or tie in their final game, Central Arkansas is crowned the regular season champ despite FGCU defeating Stetson later on. If FGCU ties UCA and then UCA loses its last game, tiebreakers beyond the head-to-head will be used to determine the champ. If FGCU ties UCA and then the Eagles lose to Stetson next week, the Bears are the champs no matter what UCA does in its final game.
Coach Jim Blankenship is seeking his first regular season or division title since 2021. FGCU has won either the regular season or the tournament title in 12 out of the last 14 years. The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds both earn a double bye, but the No.1 seed is the host site of both semifinal matchups and the championship game. The ASUN Tournament begins Thursday, Oct. 31.
FGCU is 3-1 all-time when facing Central Arkansas, and 2-0 in Fort Myers. The Eagles downed second-seeded UCA 2-0 in the ASUN semifinals a season ago in Nashville, Tennessee. Ashley Labbe, the ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, and Kendal Gargiula both scored in the match.
Gargiula is coming off her second multi-goal game of the season Thursday, finding the back of the net twice in FGCU's 3-0 shutout victory over North Alabama. Labbe is tied for the team lead in goals this season with six.
FGCU has scored at least two goals in its last six conference games. The Eagles pace the ASUN in goals scored during league play with 28. Central Arkansas is tied for second in the category with 20.
Sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Molina is on pace to break the program's single-season save record. She is just 15 saves away from setting the record once again, sitting at 103 saves on the year. She broke the same record a season ago with 117.
Molina has produced four clean sheets, three in ASUN play. Her 103 saves ranks fourth in the nation and her 6.73 saves per game ranks seventh across the country.
