BATON ROUGE, La.- For the first time in program history, the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles will step on a pitch in the state of Louisiana on Thursday, taking on Southern University in Baton Rouge in the first of two contests in the Bayou State.

FGCU and Southern will go head-to-head under the lights at Mumford Stadium Thursday in just their second meeting all-time. Their only other date came in 2022 when the Eagles got a pair of goals from Ashley Labbe in a 4-1 victory at Pickering Field.

The opening week of the 2026 season was a rollercoaster for the Eagles who started on a high, earning a scoreless draw against Houston on Wednesday in their opener, before being blanked on the road against Georgia Southern on Sunday in a 2-0 defeat.

The Eagles will look to get their offense on track after being shutout in back-to-back games for the first time since the start of the 2024 season against South Florida and Iowa. Defender Sarah Greiner leads FGCU in both shots with six and shots on goal with three while midfielder Lexie Bennett is second in both categories with three total shots and two on target through the first two games.

For Southern, Thursday will serve as their season opener, as the Jaguars are the final of the nine teams in the SWAC to get going in 2026. Southern was picked seventh in the league's preseason poll coming off of a seventh place finish at 3-12-1 overall a season ago.

The Jaguars will look to J'Lea Berry, who led the team with four goals a season ago, to help them break a six game non-conference losing streak that has seen them be outscored 19-0 by their opponents.

The game is set for a 7 p.m. (CT) local start with streaming available through Southern's website at JaguarSportsNetwork.com.

For more information on FGCU women's soccer, follow @FGCU_WSoccer on Instagram, X (Twitter) and Facebook, and visit fgcuathletics.com.