FGCU W. Soc @ Ohio State Recap

The RV FGCU women's soccer team (5-0) took down their third Power 5 hurdle as they defeated RV Ohio State (3-3) by a score of 1-0 as part of their five-game road trip.

With the win, the Eagles are not only 1-1 against the Buckeyes, but they have also secured their 11th overall win against a Power 5 Conference team.

In addition, this was the first time in program history to go 5-0 to start the season.

"I am just so impressed with all of our kids," said head coach Jim Blankenship. "At the half we went with a 'bend don't break' mentality, switching to more of a 4-5-1 and we did a great job of adjusting and sticking with the plan. Weck and the back end were phenomenal as usual. It was great to just continue building on what we have done so far. We have continued to get better every week."

“A loss can teach you a lot if you’re willing to pay attention and learn from it,”said Buckeyes head coach Lori Walker-Hock. “We gave Florida Gulf Coast a little bit too much space and they capitalized on it from the set piece. We came out strong in the second half and suffocated them but it was just too late."

"When you’re chasing the game, your style is going to change and we lost a lot of rhythm by playing long balls. That’s not our strength. We have to learn from a loss and get better at digging out of adverse moments with some composure.”

For the starting goalkeepers, Blakenship sent his usual goalkeeper, junior Melissa Weck while Walker-Hock sent senior Devon Kerr to counter.

Two minutes into the first half, freshman Kayla Fischer began with a shot that went wide left before two fouls from both teams occurred.

Junior Lindsey Patton then attempted a header that Kerr was able to block before back-and-forth fouls.

12 minutes in, the Eagles got the opportunity they were seeking as junior Evdokia "Evi" Popadinova tapped a header with an assist from senior Holly Fritz.

This was Popadinova fifth goal of the season. In addition for Popadinova, it was her fifth straight game scoring a goal, making her the first Eagle player to do that since the legendary Tabby Tindell scored in 10 straight in 2016.

The Buckeyes had so many opportunities to tie the game in both halves, but proved to be no match for the Eagle pride as the Eagles pulled off the win.

Weck (5-0) finished with six saves. In fact, the Yorba Linda native is on the verge of making career record pushes as a goalkeeper.

Weck currently sits third all-time in shutouts (23.2) and wins (33), and is nine shutouts and 10 wins away from passing Stephanie Powers (31 shutouts, 42 wins) for second all-time in both categories.

Kerr (3-3) would have only one save to the mix.

In honesty, I think FGCU is gonna be in the top 25 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll (#25 at least). I mean think about who we faced this season. We beat Alabama (4-2) from the SEC, and now the Eagles beat not one, but two Big Ten Conference teams this season against Michigan (3-2) and Ohio State (1-0).

I mean the chances of us being in the top 25 are pretty good as long as we hold on for the rest of the way for our record.

Up Next:
The Eagles wrap up their two-day Ohio road trip as they face Dayton in a rematch on Sunday, Sept. 9 at 1 P.M. ET/12 P.M. CT. The game will air on ESPN+