With a 2-0 victory against the Stetson University Hatters on Saturday, Oct. 26 at the Pickering Field, the FGCU women’s soccer team locked up the 2024 ASUN regular season title. It’s the team’s 11th in program history.
A win against the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears last week put the Eagles (10-5-1, 9-1-1) in position to clinch the regular season title with a tie or win against Stetson. However, the Hatters had everything to play for, as a win would keep their postseason hopes alive.
FGCU has dominated their cross-town rival having an 18-1-1 all-time record against the Hatters (8-10,3-7). The only loss they suffered was against Stetson back on Nov. 3, 2007.
Stetson began the game by putting two shots on the FGCU goal. The Eagles retaliated back with a goal by junior midfielder Erika Zchuppe, off of the first shot of the game for the green and blue.
After the Eagles’ first goal, they went on to outshoot the Hatters 5-1 throughout the rest of the period. Alex Labbe was the main aggressor during this time as she shot two shots in the first period, and ended the game with four shots, two of which were on goal.
The Eagles only kept the pressure up in the second half, as they took five shots, two on goal, before claiming the team’s second goal of the game. Zchuppe punched the goal in, at the 69th minute for her ninth goal of the season.
A two-goal lead was all the Eagles needed as the Hatters struggled to FGCU’s side of the field for the next 21 minutes of play. Stetson’s aggressiveness to get back in the game got the better of them in the second half, as they fouled five times and had defenseman junior Bryn Forchic and forward senior Georgia Place.
With the win, it marked the Eagles’ coach Jim Blankenship’s 17th season in the double-digit win column. He has only not achieved the feat once in his 18 seasons as head coach.
The Eagles have scheduled a tune-up game against New College of Florida to end the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 2 in preparation for the postseason. The 2024 ASUN Women’s Soccer Championship begins on Thursday, Nov. 7, with the Eagles hosting the semi-final and championship game.
