Completing its final weekend series before the A-Sun Conference slate begins, the FGCU women’s soccer team traveled to Ohio and West Virginia to face Miami (Ohio) Friday, Sept. 18 and No. 4 West Virginia Sunday.
Despite outshooting the home team, the FGCU women’s soccer team lost its first match of the weekend road trip against Miami (Ohio), 1-0. The Eagles outshot the Redhawks 11-5, with nine chances in the second half. FGCU had 6 shots on goal by by four separate players throughout the match. FGCU held Miami to a single shot the entire game. From the single shot, Miami (Ohio) scored to beat FGCU 1-0.
After the tough loss, FGCU traveled to West Virginia for a match Sunday, Sept. 20 against West Virginia University. Despite a strong defensive game, the team was defeated by a 1-0 score. With the loss, the Eagles now hold a 4-5-1 record in nonconference play.The FGCU defensive backline allowed the Mountaineers 3 shots in the first half and just 2 shots on goal in the second.
“We played to our potential today and I’m extremely proud of the team,” head coach Jim Blankenship said in an FGCU press release. “We rose to the challenge and discovered our strengths. I thought we outplayed them for a majority of the game and that was most obvious in the first half. We made a mistake that enabled their goal, but I thought we grew today, individually and as a team.”
The Eagles return home for the start of the A-Sun Conference season this weekend, hosting North Florida in the A-Sun opener on Saturday, Sept. 26. The team currently holds the nation’s third longest win streak in home games against conference opponents at 28 games.