FORT MYERS, Fla.- A matchup between the ASUN's top two offenses turned into a defensive battle in the ASUN Semifinals Sunday afternoon at Pickering Field.
Taylor Latini broke a scoreless draw 35 minutes in and neither team would be able to get another ball into the net as the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles held on for a 1-0 victory over the Jacksonville Dolphins to punch their ticket to the 2026 ASUN Championship Game Friday in Fort Myers.
"Phenomenal effort from the back four and Madara today" FGCU head coach
Jim Blankenship said. "That was a tough game, they put us in a couple of dangerous spots, but we were able to stay organized and limit their chances to come away with the win. Had a lot of players contribute today, especially the bench.
Avery White came in and gave us a spark,
Ryleigh Acosta made a great play to set Taylor up for the goal, all really good."
With an upset on their mind, Jacksonville put together the game's first scoring chance, putting a cross through the box in the 10
th minute before
Hanna Phillips cut it out in the mouth of the goal to keep the game scoreless.
Keira Morgan got the Eagles first shot in the 14
th minute, but it wasn't until the 30
th minute when
Ryleigh Acosta got behind the defense for a run that FGCU had their next chance. An aggressive challenge ended that threat for the Dolphins to keep it a 0-0 game with 15 minutes to go in the half.
Five minutes later Acosta was in on the action again, this time picking off a pass as Jacksonville tried to get out of their own end before dishing it to
Taylor Latini who beat the goalie with her right foot to put FGCU in front 1-0 into the half.
The Eagles came out firing in the second half as they looked to extend upon their lead. Morgan hammered a right footed strike that was deflected out by the Dolphins keeper while moments later
Kaitlin Gabelman played a ball through to her again for her second shot of the half, but it was just off target and it remained a 1-0 game.
Jacksonville had their best two chances of the half on FGCU fouls deep in their attacking third, but neither free kick opportunity found itself on net as the Eagles maintained their 1-0 lead into the final 20 minutes of the contest.
After picking up the assist on Latini's first half tally, it was Acosta's turn to try to get one of her own in the second period as she found herself just inside the 18 with a chance at goal and made a good strike, but the JU keeper just tipped it over the bar to keep it a 1-0 game.
It was all the FGCU defense from there as the Eagles back four shut down any run the Dolphins tried to make, holding JU to just one shot in the second half as they finished off their ninth clean sheet of the year with a 1-0 victory.
Overall shots were just about even in the contest as FGCU finished with 11 and Jacksonville 10, but five of the Eagles boots found their way on target while just two Dolphin shots did. It was a physical contest with FGCU being whistled for 16 of the 23 fouls while each team was shown a pair of yellow cards.
For Latini, it was her fifth goal of the season while the assist was Acosta's first of the year.
Madara Bome stopped both shots she faced on target for her seventh clean sheet of the season in goal.
The Eagles advance to the ASUN Championship Game for the first time since the 2023 season as they improve to 11-2-5 on the year while remaining unbeaten at Pickering Field. Jacksonville sees their season come to an end at 7-8-4 after reaching the ASUN Semifinals in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2012 and 2013 seasons.
FGCU will now turn their attention to the tournament Cinderella, Lipscomb, who picked up back-to-back upset wins Thursday and Sunday from their six seed to reach Friday's final against the Eagles. The Eagles and Bisons will kick off at 4 p.m. Friday at Pickering Field, just ahead of the FGCU men's basketball game against FIU.
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