FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast University women's soccer swept the Atlantic Sun Conference's preseason player of the year honors Wednesday and was picked No. 1 overall in the ASUN Coaches Poll, as announced by the league office.
FGCU and Southwest Florida are home to the Preseason ASUN Player of the Year, the Midfielder of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year. The Eagles also earned nine of the 12 first-place votes, while Lipscomb obtained three for second place.
Ashley Labbe captured the highest preseason honor, the ASUN Player of the Year. 2023 ASUN Tournament MVP Erika Zschuppe was named the Midfielder of the Year. Reese Mendenhall was credited with the Defender of the Year, and Olivia Molina grabbed the Goalkeeper of the Year nod from the league.
Kendal Gargiula appeared on the Preseason All-ASUN Team as well, giving FGCU five of the nine available spots on the preseason list.
"I'm really pleased to see the ladies receive recognition for their hard work and success," head coach Jim Blankenship said. "This dedicated group has been instrumental in our tournament successes. I am sure as the season goes on, they will have a huge impact on our achievements and continue to set a high standard."
ASHLEY LABBE
ASUN Preseason Player of the Year
Lake Worth, Fla. | Grad.
2023 Honors:
ASUN First Team
ASUN All-Tournament Team
ASUN Fall Winner for Life
United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Third Team
United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-South Region
Labbe started in 17 contests for the 2023 championship-winning Eagles. She missed five matches due to injury, but still managed to record a team-leading 34 shots on goal, which also paced the conference. Labbe recorded 66 shots a season ago, including one in the NCAA First Round against No. 2 seed Texas Tech. Her 66 shots tied teammate Zschuppe for the team and ASUN lead. She averaged 3.88 shots per match, which ranked 18th nationally.
Labbe tallied the third most goals on the squad with six, tying for 6th overall across the ASUN. She was also third on the team and 6th in the ASUN in total points with 15 points, adding three assists. The Lake Worth native found the back of the net in three consecutive matches against Queens, Austin Peay and Lipscomb. She provided the game-winner against Lipscomb, and also connected on a game-winner in FGCU's ASUN Quarterfinal win over Austin Peay. Labbe was one of only three Eagles with two or more game-winners last season. She played the full time in three matches, totaling a vital 1,308 minutes on the pitch.
ERIKA ZSCHUPPE
ASUN Preseason Midfielder of the Year
Kirtland, Ohio | Jr.
2023 Honors:
ASUN First Team
ASUN Tournament MVP
ASUN Player of the Week (1x)
United Soccer Coaches All-South Region First Team
TopDrawer Soccer's Top 100 List
Zschuppe scored the infamous hat trick to spark the Eagles' come-from-behind victory in the 2023 ASUN Championship match over North Alabama. She scored all three goals in a span of 14 minutes. She also scored the tying goal in ASUN Quarterfinal win over Austin Peay. Zschuppe tallied a team-leading 10 goals and eight assists in 2023, worth 28 points. She emerged second in the ASUN in total goals, but first in overall points.
The Ohio native had three game-winners, including against in-state rivals South Florida and FIU. She appeared on SportsCenter's Top 10 Plays with a crossover goal off the post. Zschuppe recorded two shots, one on goal, in the NCAA First-Round battle against No. 2 seed Texas Tech. For the season, she fired 66 shots to tie for the team lead, 25 of those were on goal which ranked second most on the squad.
REESE MENDENHALL
ASUN Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Phoenix, Ariz. | Sr.
2023 Honors:
ASUN First Team
United Soccer Coaches All-South Region Second Team
Mendenhall anchored FGCU's back-line defense, tallying 1,972 minutes and tirelessly chasing down countless through balls. She accumulated the second most minutes played on the team a season ago. Mendenhall played the full time in 18 contests and recorded at least 82 minutes on the pitch in every match.
The Arizona native helped to produce 10 clean sheets, second most in ASUN and 14th nationally. She also played a vital role in FGCU's seven shutouts in ASUN play. She was a part of a defensive squad that held opponents to 10 shots or less in six matches.
Offensively, she notched five assists for third most on the team and fifth overall across the ASUN. Mendenhall had back-to-back assists in wins over North Florida and Jacksonville, and provided an assist in FGCU's ASUN Quarterfinal win over Austin Peay.
OLIVIA MOLINA
ASUN Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year
Tampa, Fla. | So.
2023 Honors:
ASUN All-Freshman Team
ASUN All-Tournament Team
ASUN Goalkeeper of the Week (1x)
TopDrawerSoccer's Top 100 List
Molina broke the program record for the most saves in a single season with 117. Her 117 saves ranked second in the ASUN and ninth nationally. She led the ASUN in save percentage ( .867), placing 12th in the country, and was third across in the league saves per game at 5.32.
The freshman produced 10 clean sheets, seven clean sheets in ASUN play to guide the 2023 championship-winning Eagles to 12-5-5 record and 7-1-3 mark in conference. She held No. 2 seed Texas Tech scoreless for nearly 80 minutes in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, tallying eight saves.
The Tampa native had a season-high of 12 saves in a win over South Florida, and snagged five saves in the ASUN Championship match as the Eagles advanced on penalty kicks. Molina surrendered only 18 goals as a freshman and finished the season ranked No. 61 overall in TopDrawerSoccer's Top 100 List.
