Fort Myers, Fla. – The FGCU (2-3) women's soccer team fought hard against Florida (1-4-1), Sunday afternoon in wet and sloppy conditions at Pickering Field, but fell to the Gators, 1-0.
Florida's Alivia Gonzalez scored the only goal of the game in the 54th minute which proved to be enough to secure the Gators' first victory of the season.
"It's a tough goal to give up. We just have to regroup. We are getting better each game and that's the key," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "We got plenty ahead of us and the key is to try to fix it and get it right when we get into conference play. We are playing a tough schedule for a reason to help prepare us for conference."
The Gators outshot FGCU, 15-12, and had a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal. Florida also earned six corner kicks to FGCU's four.
Freshmen Kajsa Lang (Kalmar, Sweden/Stagneliusskolan) and Alyssa Wilson (Fort Myers, Fla./Fort Myers HS) led the Eagles with two shots. Graduate student Zoey Spitzer (Naples, Fla./Gulf Coast HS), freshman Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS), junior Kara Kyramarios (Titusville, Fla./Titusville HS), and freshman Rosa Horskjaer (Copenhagen, Denmark/Falkonergardens) each had one shot on goal.
Spitzer looked to give the Eagles an early lead in the first minute of the game, but her shot was saved. FGCU added two more shots in the first five minutes before lightning stopped the match in the 6th minute.
After about an 80-minute delay, the two teams came back on the field and after a couple of minutes of action, heavy rain started falling which lasted into the second half.
The Eagles had one of their best chances of the day in the 33rd minute when they earned a free kick just outside the box. Lang stepped over the ball and fired a shot, but it went just high.
FGCU had a couple of chances late in the game with the best opportunity coming off a corner kick in the 88th minute. Labbe took the corner and after bouncing around in the box, the ball found the foot of Horskjaer who took a shot, but the keeper secured it.
Next up for the Eagles will be their biggest challenge yet as the #1 Florida State Seminoles come to Fort Myers. Kickoff from Pickering Field is set for 7 p.m. on Thursday night.
For complete coverage of FGCU women's soccer, follow the Eagles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @FGCU_WSoccer and online at www.FGCUAthletics.com. You can also sign up to have news on FGCU women's soccer or other programs delivered directly to your inbox by visiting www.fgcuathletics.com/email.
COACH JIM BLANKENSHIP
A veteran of over two decades in collegiate coaching, head coach Jim Blankenship, who was named the ASUN Coach of the Year in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2019, has built FGCU women's soccer into a yearly contender in the ASUN Conference and a rising program in the South Region in just 13 seasons. Blankenship started the program in 2007 and has since guided the Eagles to 13 double-digit win seasons, culminating with ASUN Regular Season Championships in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019. In 2011 and 2012 he also led the Eagles to back-to-back ASUN Tournament titles as they became the first team in the history of the university to make it to the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles went on to win the 2014 ASUN Tournament and hosted the first NCAA Championship event on campus. The Eagles earned their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance with the 2015 ASUN Tournament Championship and won their first NCAA game at USF in 2015 while finishing 24th in the nation. In 2016, the Eagles made it three-consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament with a third-straight ASUN Tournament title. A year later, the Eagles became the first ASUN women's soccer program to make four-straight NCAA Tournaments with another tournament title in 2017. Blankenship has guided FGCU to a 176-64-27 (.710) overall record through the first 15 seasons of the program's existence, including an 86-17-15 (.801) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship's impressive career record of 416-135-38 (.739) over 27 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.
E.A.G.L.E. CAMPAIGN
IT TAKES A TEAM to achieve our newest goal - a $10 million campaign to address student-athlete needs in continued academic success, life skills, mental health, nutrition, and strength and conditioning as well as departmental needs in facility expansion and improvement as well as mentoring and leadership training for coaches and staff. The name embodies our mission and the purpose of the E.A.G.L.E. Campaign - Eagle Athletics Generating Lifetime Excellence. Join Our Team and pledge your gift today to help the Eagles of tomorrow!
#FEEDFGCU
FGCU Athletics sponsors events in November and April to benefit the FGCU Campus Food Pantry (www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry) and the Harry Chapin Food Bank (https://ift.tt/1E0CJiI), FGCU Athletics' charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and utilize the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 85 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 14+ seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just ten seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 42 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 21, 2020-21), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2021) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as three of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 23 consecutive semesters. The 2019 Fall, 2020 Spring, 2020 Fall, and 2021 Spring semesters each saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
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Women's Soccer Comes up Just Short Against Florida - FGCU Athletics
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