FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University women's soccer drilled Queens University of Charlotte with eight goals Friday for a dominant 8-0 victory at Pickering Field.
"We scored early which takes the pressure off," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "Attacking wise, our girls were outstanding. It opened up the game. We have dealt with a little bit of everything the last couple of weeks with the weather, so it was nice to see us come out and put in the performance they did."
Six different Eagles (5-5-1, 4-1 ASUN) joined in on the scoring barrage. Eight goals marked the most FGCU has scored in a single match in six years when the Eagles put eight on Webber International back in 2018. Friday's contest witnessed the most Eagles' goals against a Division I opponent since 2015. The school record for the most goals scored in a match is 10 as FGCU pelted double-digits against Alabama State in 2007, the first-ever match in program history.
Kendal Gargiula and Lou Martinet each had two goals Friday. Erika Zschuppe and Ashley Labbe scored once, and Nele Karowski and Anna Mariano scored their first goals of their collegiate career.
Zschuppe got the Eagles started in the 12th minute with her third goal of the season. Karowski made the extra pass in the 27th minute to feed Labbe for her goal, her sixth of the year. Martinet put the Eagles up 3-0 heading into the half, registering her first goal in the 34th minute for the Green and Blue.
Gargiula scored back-to-back goals in the 46th and 51st minutes, going up 5-0 over the Royals. The Eagles kept the pressure on deep into the second half.
In the 61st minute, Martinet found the back of the net again. Mariano put the ball up and over an outstretched keeper to make it 7-0 Eagles through 73 minutes.
In the 80th minute, Karowski placed a perfect header past the keeper on a corner opportunity to cap the Eagles' unstoppable day. FGCU recorded a season-high 33 shots, 21 on goal, to counter Queens' six shot attempts. Olivia Molina made two saves on the day, now giving herself 70 saves on the season.
At 4-1 in the conference, FGCU now sits second overall in the standings, just behind Central Arkansas at 4-0-1. Six ASUN matches remain on the slate for FGCU.
FGCU welcomes the University of West Georgia on Sunday for a 1 p.m. kickoff. 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.
