RICHMOND, Ky. – The FGCU women’s soccer team took an early lead against Eastern Kentucky, Thursday afternoon and never looked back as the Eagles took down the Colonels, 5-1. The Green & Blue improved to 6-5-0 on the season and 4-1-0 in the ASUN while EKU fell to 6-4-2 and 2-2-2 in league play.
“It felt great to get back on the field after the events of last week and getting a win makes it even better,” said the head coach. Jim Blankenship. “The ladies played phenomenal, putting the pressure on right from the start. We’ve got a lot of weapons offensively which was showcased today and then our defense and Katie [Sullivan] continued their strong play as well.”
Four different Eagles scored with junior Louise Lillback (Stockholm, Sweden/Tibble Gymnasium) registering a brace. Sophomore Katelyn Kauffman (Pittsburgh, Pa./Norwin HS/Pitt), freshman Marla Gaudlitz (Werder, Germany/Sportschule Potsdam Friedrich Ludwig Jahn), and sophomore Ashley Labbe (Lake Worth, Fla./Suncoast HS) also found the back of the net for FGCU.
It was a fast-paced game as 39 shots were taken between the two teams with the Eagles holding a 22-17 advantage while shots on goal were even at nine. FGCU had a big edge in corner kicks with nine as opposed to just one for the Colonels.
Kauffman got the scoring started early, corralling a rebound in the box and firing a shot past the keeper in the third minute for the first goal of her career.
The score remained the same until the 32n.d minute when Lillback found the back of the net off a beautiful assist from Erika Zschuppe (Kirtland, Ohio/Kirtland HS). The freshman raced past her defender on the outside before crossing the ball into the box for an awaiting Lillback who blasted the ball past the keeper.
Just before the half in the 43rd minute, the Eagles made it 3-0 as a sophomore Malaya Melancon (Naples, Fla./First Baptist Academy) received a throw in and headed it to Gaudlitz who took one touch before firing a shot into the side netting.
In the second half, EKU got one goal back in the 58thth minute, but the Eagles responded with two goals in the next 10 minutes.
In the 63rdrd minute, Labbe used her speed to dribble around her defender before firing a shot just outside the 18-yard box, slipping it in the corner past the diving keeper.
In the 67thth minute, Gaudlitz won a jump ball off a goal kick, heading it to Melancon, who also used his head to knock it forward to Lillback. After taking control of the ball, the Swede took a shot that hit off the inside of the post and went in for her sixth goal of the season and 32n.d of her career.
Graduate student Katie Sullivan (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North HS/Creighton) did the rest for the Eagles, making eight saves, tying a season-high.
The Eagles will be back in action on Sunday as they stay in the Bluegrass State to take on Bellarmine. Kickoff from Louisville is set for 1 pm
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 an annual 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 189-74-28 (.698) overall record through the first 16 seasons of the program’s existence, including a 96-20-15 (.791) mark in the ASUN. Blankenship’s impressive career record of 429-145-39 (.732) over 32 seasons has come while leading FGCU, the University of Miami, Lynn University and St. Thomas University.
EAGLE 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 EAGLE 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 (www.harrychapinfoodbank.org), FGCU Athletics’ charities of choice. For more information, including how to make a contribution, please visit www.fgcu.edu/foodpantry and use the hashtag #FeedFGCU to help raise awareness.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of DI postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men’s golf team became the first program to earn an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sports – including women’s basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men’s soccer (2018, 2019) and women’s soccer (2018) as four 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 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative 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.