The eight-time defending A-SUN regular-season champion FGCU women's soccer team will once again face a stern non-conference schedule to prepare the Eagles for what they hope is another title run as head coach Jim Blankenship announced the full 2018 schedule on Thursday.
Of FGCU's first six games, three will be against NCAA Tournament and top-35 RPI teams from a season ago – in addition to taking on another Power 5 club in those opening four weekends. The non-league slate includes nine matchups (10 in total for the year) leading into the A-SUN schedule where the Green and Blue will welcome a pair of conference newcomers in North Alabama and Liberty.
"I'm excited about the upcoming season and the schedule," commented Blankenship. "It will be interesting adding two new teams into the conference schedule, so I think that will bring some excitement to the league. As always, we're blessed to be able to play a phenomenal non-conference schedule that we feel not only prepares us for the A-SUN, but hopefully gets us ready for the NCAA Tournament – which is our goal to be playing in again."
Highlighting that non-league docket is a home matchup with Michigan on Sept. 2, but also includes road contests versus Alabama and Ohio State. In total, the Eagles will host eight games at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
After two exhibition matches at FAU and at home versus Florida, the Eagles will kick off their regular season on Aug. 17 by hosting Georgia Southern. Two days later, the Green and Blue will travel north to square off against in-state foe UCF. The Knights are coming off a 13-win season, a top-25 national ranking and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. One of the stingiest teams in the nation last year, UCF's .491 goals against average was good for 11th in the country as the Knights finished the year with an RPI of 10.
The first of the three Power 5 matchups takes place the following week as the Eagles travel to Tuscaloosa to face SEC member Alabama. The Crimson Tide were ranked as high as #24 in national polls last season, turning in 12 wins and making an NCAA Tournament appearance on their way to a final RPI of 34. This will be the second meeting between FGCU and Alabama (2016, 1-0 Alabama win).
The Eagles will return to campus the following week to host Niagara on Aug. 31 before welcoming Big 10 member Michigan. The Wolverines last season faced six ranked teams, including nine opponents ranked inside the top-50 of the final RPI. This will mark the first-ever meeting between the two squads.
Five days later, the Eagles will stay within the Big 10 and begin the start of a six-game road trip, this time heading to Columbus to take on Ohio State (Sept. 7). The Buckeyes are coming off a 15-victory season, including nine conference wins en route to their first outright league title. OSU participated in the NCAA Tournament and finished its campaign with an RPI of 24. FGCU and Ohio State last met in 2016 as the Eagles dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker in double overtime.
In a quick turnaround, the Green and Blue will continue its Ohio stint, taking on 10-time NCAA participant Dayton (Sept. 9). Both teams last met in 2015 with the Eagles coming out on top, 1-0.
Soon after, FGCU will return back home and prepare for its cross-state rival FIU on Sept. 13 before traveling back to the Midwest for its first-ever meeting with Loyola Chicago on Sept. 16. The Ramblers are coming off one of their best seasons in program history, compiling 13 wins in 2017 which featured a high-potent scoring offense that ranked 2nd in the country in goals per game at 3.05.
That contest with Loyola Chicago will serve as the final non-conference test before the start of A-SUN play, and the Eagles will begin league action by concluding their six-game road trip in the River City taking on Jacksonville (Sept. 21) and North Florida (Sept. 23).
FGCU's A-SUN home opener will come on Sept. 28 when it takes on North Alabama – one of the league's newcomers from the Division-II ranks. A conference tournament championship rematch with Lipscomb is next up for the Eagles as they welcome Lipscomb to The Nest on Sept. 30. Last year, FGCU overcame a 2-0 2nd-half deficit in the final on Lipscomb's home field to claim the title in double overtime, 3-2.
The Eagles return to the road the following weekend, traveling to NJIT (Oct. 4) before heading to Kennesaw State.
Upon their return home, the Green and Blue will welcome the other league newcomer, Liberty, on Oct. 11. Despite being new to the A-SUN, FGCU and Liberty have met in each of the previous two seasons – both Eagles' victories. The former Big South Conference member has been in the NCAA Tournament three times since 2013.
After a final non-conference match against Webber International, the Eagles will host rival Stetson for Senior Night on Oct. 20 to conclude the regular season.
In a format change this year, the A-SUN Championship gets underway with games (No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed or No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed) on Oct. 26 before the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds host semifinal matchups a couple days later on Oct. 28. The final is set for Nov. 3 at the highest remaining seed.
The Eagles are coming off a 14-4-1 year in 2017 which culminated in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in seven seasons of eligibility. While FGCU fell in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament to #25 USF after winning its sixth A-SUN Tournament title, FGCU set program records in assists (54), and nearly matched or broke season records in points (154 in 2017; record 157) and goals (50 in 2017; record 53).
FGCU's potent offensive attack finished last year 4th in the country in scoring (2.61 goals per game), 7th in total goals and 4th in total assists. Of those, the Eagles return 34 of 50 goals (68 percent), 37 of 54 assists (69 percent) and 105 of 154 points (68 percent) recorded in 2017.
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