FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Florida Gulf Coast University women's soccer team earned a 6-0 victory over West Georgia on Thursday evening at Pickering Field, boosting its overall record to 9-4-2 and 6-1-1 in Atlantic Sun Conference play. The Eagles extended their unbeaten streak to six matches, which began with a 4-0 win over the Wolves on Sept. 28. FGCU tied its season high in goals and equaled its largest margin of victory of the season, matching their 6-0 wins against Webber International on Aug. 17 and North Florida on Oct. 5.
FGCU scored its quickest goal of the year, just 17 seconds into the match, when
Maya Henley Buisan forced a turnover in West Georgia's penalty area and tallied her second goal of the season. It was FGCU's seventh goal within the first 10 minutes of a match this year.
Eagles' goalkeeper
Madara Matrevica was called on for the first time in the 16th minute, making a save to keep her team ahead. Forty-five seconds later, seniors
Erika Zschuppe and
Kendal Gargiula turned a two-on-one with West Georgia's goalkeeper into a Gargiula goal with Zschuppe providing the assist to give FGCU a 2-0 advantage. It was Gargiula's seventh goal of the season, the second most on the team behind Zschuppe, whose assist was her first of the year. The Preseason ASUN Player and Midfielder of the Year's most recent helper came last October against the Wolves.
Matrevica made her second save less than one minute after Gargiula's goal and her third in the 32nd minute, surpassing her total of two in her first contest against West Georgia on Sept. 28.
In the 35th minute, freshman
Lexie Bennett scored the first goal of her career off a scramble in front of the net which followed a
Lauren Dwyer front-flipping throw-in. Bennett had one previous point, an assist against Webber International in her collegiate debut.
FGCU finished the first half with a 3-0 lead, 13 shots and seven shots on goal while the Wolves managed four shots, three of which were on net.
The Eagles took six shots across the first 17 minutes of the second half but could not break through until the 63rd minute when Zschuppe tallied her Division I-leading 18th goal of the season through a challenge and off the post. The senior extended her goal streak to eight consecutive matches, the longest in the country. With a goal and an assist against the Wolves, Zschuppe boosted her point total to 37 this year, which also leads the nation.
Her 18-goal total moves Zschuppe into second place on the Eagles' single season record list behind Tabby Tindell's mark of 20 in 2014. Zschuppe overtook Tindell's 17 goals in 2015 for second place. The senior's 37 points are now third most in a sole campaign at FGCU, trailing Tindell's 48 in 2014 and 44 in 2015. Zschuppe passed Tindell's 36-point performance in 2016 for third place. The two-time First Team All-ASUN selection has 43 career goals and 103 career points, both second in program history behind Tindell (2013-16), whose 66 goals and 162 points are both program records.
Megan Morgan recorded the assist on Zschuppe's goal, her sixth of the season which tied Henley Buisan for the team lead.
The Eagles added two more goals in the second half. Freshman
Keira Morgan picked up her second career tally in the 79th minute off a feed from fellow freshman
Lyla Bell, her first point at the collegiate level. Another freshman,
Sophia Holtzman, scored her third career goal in the 81st minute.
Keira Morgan recorded the assist, which made it a career-high three points within two minutes of match time for the freshman.
FGCU improved its point total to 19 in the ASUN's Graphite Division. With Jacksonville idle, the Eagles gained sole possession of first place in the division, although they own the tiebreaker over Jacksonville anyway thanks to a win and a draw against the Dolphins in their head-to-head series. FGCU has clinched a spot in the ASUN Championship.
Florida Gulf Coast (9-4-2, 6-1-1 ASUN) returns to the pitch on Sunday when it hosts Queens at 1 p.m. at Pickering Field for Senior Day. Queens handed FGCU its only conference loss of the season, a 1-0 defeat in Charlotte on Sept. 25.
