Two smartly headed goals from sophomore Marjorie Boilesen and senior Lauren Greene gave the FGCU women's soccer team (4-1) a 2-0 victory over defending MAC champions Kent State (1-3).
"When you play quality teams it gets hectic at times," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "They've been good for a long time and we knew we were going to have our hands full tonight. I thought the first seven to ten minutes were a little concerning just because of their quickness but I thought out guys stepped up and met the challenge. And that's what you want as a coach."
The Eagles opened their season with a four-game road trip earning wins over Georgia Southern, Valparasio, and Eastern Michigan. The lone loss they had was against #4 South Carolina.
FGCU's impressive home record of 70-18-10 was put to the test against the preseason MAC East favorites who returned eight started from a 15-win 2016 season. Lightning however delayed the earlier scheduled neutral game between FAU and Liberty twice – before Liberty claimed a 1-0 victory – resulting in the home opener to start more than two hours late at nearly 9:15 p.m.
With lightning still flashing well off in the distance, Kent State applied pressure early in the contest, forcing sophomore Melissa Weck to make a routine save a minute into the match. About eight minutes in, the Eagles found their rhythm resulting in junior Holly Fritz sending a shot toward goal though it missed high.
FGCU countered a brief spell controlled by Kent State with the game's first goal. Redshirt senior Ashley Parks split the Kent State backline with a perfectly weighted through ball to senior Varin Ness on the left side of the field. The Norwegian picked out Boilesen and the UWF transfer headed home her fourth of the season and third in two games.
The Eagles dominated the remainder of the half as the Eagles allowed just one shot over the final 25 minutes. Meanwhile, at the other end, FGCU searched for a second. Ness attempted to score her second sensational goal of the week but a Kent State defender knocked down her strike from distance before it could test the goalkeeper.
Moments later, Boilesen was back in on the action, testing Kent State goalkeeper, senior Katie Kingsbury. Kingsbury was unable to cleanly control the shot, conceding a corner. On the ensuing set piece, Fritz got her head to the ball but sent it wide of goal and FGCU went into the break leading 1-0.
Weck was much busier in the second half, recording the first of five saves in the 52nd minute and then she produced her biggest save of the night in the 53rd minute. The sophomore made a reaction save following a corner to deny freshman Vital Kats a potential equalizing goal.
"They're an awesome team. I thought their team had awesome energy," said Greene on Kent State. "They're a mid-major team just like us, and definitely matched our play, but we obviously came out with the result."
Kent State continued to put FGCU on its heels but Weck remained up to the task, corralling a redshirt senior Donavan Capehart header in the 57th minute.
The Green and Blue began to settle back in when grad student Kiana Rugar entered the match. Fresh off the bench, Rugar and Ness almost connected four minutes into her appearance following a turnover at midfield only for the Golden Flashes to cut in at the last second to intercept the pass deep in their defending third.
FGCU's next substitution proved to be a difference-maker as Greene came on in the 77th minute and immediately helped FGCU's efforts. The Eagles earned two corners within two minutes of the senior's arrival, the first resulting in a junior Camille Knudstrup shot that was deflected for the second corner. With the second attempt, Greene was in the right spot and almost put the home side in front 2-0 but a Kent State defender cleared it off the line.
Greene had one more chance though and she properly buried it. After redshirt senior Nikki Hudson was fouled around midfield, Fritz delivered a fantastic service into the box where Greene won the aerial duel and beat the goalkeeper at the far post.
"Honestly, when we got the free kick, I was like 'I'm getting in the spot where I can head this in and seal this win,'" said Greene on scoring her goal. "I knew Holly (Fritz) was looking straight at me, so we made eye contact. So she kicked the ball behind the girl and caught her off-guard and we sealed the win."
Weck (4-1) made one more save in the final five minutes to preserve the shutout and close out the 2-0 victory. The shutout was FGCU's third of the season and it was the first time this season Kent State has been held scoreless this season.
"Being at home in front of our fans is awesome, like we always bring the most energy when we're at home," said Greene on the fans.
"Our fans deserve our best, and I felt like we gave it," Blakenship added on the fans.
UP NEXT:
The Eagles wrap up the weekend with a 1 p.m. match against Liberty Sunday.
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