FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast women's soccer's season came to an end with a 3-1 loss in the quarterfinals of the ASUN Championship against Bellarmine.
The Knights struck first in the 13th minute. An Eagles save on an initial shot attempt from the Knights resulted in a rebound directed toward Brynn Severance, who found the back of the net to give Bellarmine a 1-0 lead.
It was much of the same later in the first half, as Dakota Bremer took a shot that was saved before Lucy von Steffenelli controlled the deflection and put the Knights up 2-0 in the 29th minute.
The Knights' compounding pressure marked the theme of the night, as a Bellarmine shot off the crossbar preceded a pair of blocked shots before McKenzie Carle scored in the 63rd minute to make the score 3-0.
Kendal Gargiula prevented the shutout, finding the back of the net in the 85th minute to cut into the FGCU deficit, but it proved to be too little, too late, and FGCU fell 3-1.
The loss marked the end of the careers of the nine FGCU seniors, Gargiula,
Erika Zschuppe,
Lauren Dwyer,
Elena Hinkson,
Megan Morgan,
Nellie Nygren,
Emma Badger,
Lindsey Saad, and
Haley Slouka.
Zschuppe's ten-game goal scoring streak was snapped, but she ended the season as the NCAA leader in goals scored with 21. Gargiula's score on the evening gave her ten goals on the season for the best full campaign of the North Fort Myers native's career.
For more information on FGCU women's soccer, follow @FGCU_WSoccer on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit
fgcuathletics.com.
