FGCU W-SOC vs Kent State, Liberty: Home Opening Preview

The FGCU women's soccer team (3-1) had just completed a four-game road trip to start the season and are preparing for their first two home games by hosting the FGCU Tournament, which will involve FAU (3-1), Kent State University (1-2) and Liberty University (0-2-2) .

Last Time Out:
The Eagles started the season first playing Georgia Southern and winning 3-0. After that, FGCU went to play South Carolina, the No. 4 team in the nation, but fell 1-2 despite an excellent effort. After being out of state for the first two games, the Eagles came back to Florida and participated in the FAU Adidas Owl Classic hosted by Florida Atlantic University (FAU) where they would pull wins against Valparaiso (1-0) and Eastern Michigan (5-1).

The players that led the charge for the Eagles include sophomore forward Marjorie Boilesen, redshirt senior defender Ashley Parks and sophomore goalkeeper Melissa Weck.

Boilesen, a transfer from NCAA DII University of West Florida (UWF), leads the team with three goals.

Parks, along with fellow defenders, junior Camile Knudstrup and sophomore Lindsay Patton, take control of the defense allowing only three goals.

Weck (3-1) has allowed three goals for the four away games and has 10 saves so far.

In the opening game against Georgia Southern, along with Boilesen, freshmen Hope Van Wagner, Zoey Spitzer, Cassidy Morgan and Lauren Moss, redshirt freshman Jocelyn Nelson, sophomore Petra Smetkova, and seniors Varin Ness and Kiana Rugar made their debuts. Nelson (Florida), Smetkova (Arkansas), Ness (DII Carson-Newman) and Rugar (Albany) made their debuts as transfers.

Scouting Kent State:
Last time FGCU and Kent State played was in 2010 where the Golden Flashes won 2-1, so this will be the second time both teams play each other.

The Golden Flashes had their first three games in a struggling fashion. They lost to Purdue 1-2 and Cleveland State 1-2 before winning their first game 4-0 against St. Bonaventure.

Offensively, the Golden Flashes are led by freshman midfielder Vital Kats and freshman forward Cameron Shedenhelm. Both players have two goals each.

Goalkeeper wise, junior Ashleah McDonald (0-2) has given up all four goals while senior Katie Kingsbury (1-0) has given up none. McDonald, despite giving up four goals, has six save to her name.

Scouting Liberty:
FGCU and Liberty played each other last season with FGCU beating the Flames 1-0.

The Lady Flames have played so far Wagner College, Virgina Commonwealth University (VCU), George Washington (GW) and Virginia. They tied with Wagner and GW, but lost to VCU and Virginia.

Sophomore forward Gabrielle Farrell and junior forward Devon Jones lead the charge with one goal each.

Redshirt senior goalkeeper Tori Collar (0-2-2) gave up all six goals and has 17 saves overall.

During the tournament, FGCU be playing Kent State and Liberty. The game between FGCU and Kent State will start at 7 P.M. The game will be a greenout as marketing is encouraging fans and Dirty Birds to wear green to the game.

The game against Liberty at 1 P.M. will be a whiteout, so marketing is encouraging fans and Dirty Birds to wear white to that game, despite it being very hot on a Sunday afternoon.

FGCU and FAU will not be playing each other in the tournament.

Before FGCU plays, FAU will play Liberty at 4:30 P.M. on Friday and Kent State at 10:30 A.M. on Sunday to give FGCU a rest for their games.