Florida Gulf Coast clinched its eighth ASUN title

By Official Florida FC

Florida Gulf Coast returns to the NCAA Tournament following an improbable and dramatic comeback in the ASUN Women’s Soccer Championship on Sunday afternoon in Nashville, Tenn.

The Eagles (12-4-5) trailed by three goals in the first 40 minutes, but found a way to beat North Alabama in penalty kicks to win the conference title for the second straight season.

Erika Zschuppe had never scored multiple goals in a game during her collegiate career, until Sunday afternoon. The sophomore from Kirtland, Ohio scored in the 65^th, 67^th and 79^th minutes to send the game into extra time. The 2021 Miss Ohio winner also stepped up and buried Florida Gulf Coast’s first penalty kick.

Eden Bretzer assisted all three goals to help Florida Gulf Coast extend its unbeaten run to 11 matches.

Florida Gulf Coast freshman Olivia Molina made two saves in the penalty shootout – in addition to five others in the previous 110 minutes to help the Eagles advance to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in program history.

“Absolutely amazing,” Florida Gulf Coast head coach Jim Blakenship told the university athletics department afterward. “I am proud of the ladies, and their effort. Like I said before, it’s a resilient team, and today we got tested. Happy and proud that we were up for the battle. I’m confident in this group. We’ve been through a lot, we continue to grow and today was just a massive step in our program’s development and our mentally. A lot of heart in the Eagles.”

Indeed.

Florida State wins ACC Tournament Championship for fourth straight season

The No. 1 team in the country showed its mettle in winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship for the fourth straight season.

This year is the second time in the last four seasons that Florida State will enter the NCAA Tournament unbeaten. The Seminoles (15-0-1) beat Clemson 2-1 on Sunday afternoon through a pair of goals from senior forward Onyi Echegini.

Florida State opened the scoring in the seventh minute. Clemson responded with a 29^th minute goal from Mackenzie Duff. Echegini scored her ACC-leading 13^th goal in the 57^th to seal the conference crown.